Halfway There

What can I say? It’s been a hell of a rough two years; from having my last full year of academia in middle school to not going out at all within the first eight months…let’s just say I could definitely be in a better spot right now. Physically, I could do a lot better, but I mean it’s off season anyway. I can’t speak for other people, but mentally, this has been an all-time high for me. I’ve had time to pursue my own hobbies, manage my schedule, and have a much well deserved mental break. I’d like to say I was the most prepared person for COVID to happen. Although I didn’t see anyone personally, I kept in contact with many of my friends through video games, social media, and especially Discord. During school time, it allowed for more collaborative work which took a great deal off of everyone’s shoulders and emphasized the flipped classroom model. I’ve always been against rote learning since it was purely based on memorization and only partially applicable to real life. Lectures were quite useless to me since I always learned better self studying and much of the curriculum developed for those classes were not meant to be adapted online. That being said, the opportunities that the flipped classroom model changed my life in ways that I never thought was possible.

The flipped classroom model allowed me to figure out what I truly wanted. I’ve been burnt out of school for a long time, and rekindling my passion for learning is something I haven’t felt since 6th grade. I’ve figured out how to sustain this for a long period of time, but just know that finding a passion for learning was not easy. I’ve been trying to do it ever since I lost it, but I could just never find the right way to become interested again. I tried switching subjects, taking a break, and everything you could possibly think of. What I realized in the end was that the pursuit of learning isn’t purely based on motivation alone; it’s the insanity and drive to keep innovating, even if there’s no specific reason.

Some projects I’ve worked on to sate my insanity

Quarantine wasn’t all bad. Some people discovered things about themselves, others had fun in the solidarity of their home, and there are those who used this time to better themselves. I tried my best to do them all!

• Learning to be a “front-end” web dev - that’s why I started working on this site and I plan to develop more in the future as a startup.
• Building keyboards and getting into the mechanical keyboard hobbyist market.
• Picking up certifications again after my hiatus since 2018.
• Building an interest in computer science again. I was turned off by programming languages for so long, but my passion is starting to rekindle itself.
• Learning several languages is always a nice portfolio booster!
• And as always, catching up on my extremely long book list.

My foreseeable goals

• Manage my time wisely so I can continue to do my job and get the bottom things done!
• Get my schedule all sorted out for the next couple of years and start looking toward the future (senior classes, then colleges + major)
• Dual enroll, hoping to grab an AS; if not, a certificate at the minimum.
• Sign up for AP classes that I find usable
• Study for standardized tests if possible (ACT/SAT, AP exams) — self-learning is definitely going to be a lot of work.
• Continue to accumulate new skills, work experience, and certifications
• Develop my extracurricular activities

The future

Time has gone too fast; I still think I’m a freshman, but it’s crazy to think that I’m a rising upperclassman. So many expectations! Prom! Standardized testing! Many APs! Competition for colleges! Fun! I can’t let the stresses of high school continue to weigh me down; junior year is the most important year and a lot of things are definitely counting on me. There’s definitely going to be no rest for me as of now; it’s a shame, but I think my hard work will pay off. For that, I say farewell for now! I’m not too consistent with blogging anymore (no need to tell us twice) since I’m definitely going to be pretty occupied these next two years.

Quarantine vibes! | Taken Oct. 23, 2020