LO: My Inspiration

I think for me, I have always been extremely interested in code with a creative focus, so finding a place of inspiration was relatively difficult. When I was a kid, I was so obsessed with video game creation that by the time I had entered 5th grade, I had already mastered three different game-developing software. Whatever free time I had, I was either playing video games, watching youtube, or making my own games. However, when I entered middle school, I didn’t have the time to grow and flesh out my interest in computer science. But when I hit high school, I was scrolling through youtube and came across this content creator named Michael Reeves, who inspired me yet again to get back into coding. Although extremely lackluster, Michael Reeves was motivated by passion just as I was in elementary school. He only wanted to make projects that he thought were interesting; such as little robots and screaming Roombas. I admired him because all his work was original and authentic, and while he joked about it, he cared very deeply about each of his projects. The first video I watched was one of his earlier videos, where he created a real-life cursor using two motors that he hot glued together. Just by moving his mouse on the computer screen, the laser pointer connected to the motors would move on the wall in real life. I thought the idea was both hilarious and intriguing–and without thinking, I decided to recreate his idea. He had built and coded everything himself, so in the spirit of Michael Reeves, I decided to do the same. I continued to follow him through his youtube journey, watching in create more interesting projects such as the cursor. While simple, at first, his projects became more and more sophisticated as his skills continued to grow. For example, most recently he made a surgery robot that you could control simply by moving your hand through space. While his content I would say is not going towards anything right now, the future for me resides in his ideology. I believe that innovation derives itself from passion and authenticity in your own work and I aspire to continue that thought process in my future endeavors.

Michael Reeves Youtube Channel