Why I Fell in Love with Problem-Solving (And Why You Should Too)

Context:

If there are two subjects that capture who I am, they’d have to be Mathematics and Computer Science. Am I in the top 1% at either of them? Of course, no. But do I enjoy learning about them? Oh, absolutely! In my last blog, I shared how connecting the dots eventually pulled me into CP (competitive programming).

Storytime:

The last time I coded like this was back in grade 10, three years ago. My coding journey started even earlier, in class 9, when I first picked up Python. Looking back, I think I might’ve had a knack for programming as far back as grade 4. If you remember the MSWLogo days (iykyk), that’s where it all began. I loved that little tool! Spent hours making cool shapes and patterns, feeling like I was doing something groundbreaking, haha.

Then, fast forward to grade 8, and I got my first taste of algorithms. And for someone like me—who waits until the last possible second to get things done—I realized something: I could really count on algorithms. They work.

As a Feynman fan, I thought I’d challenge myself with something I wasn’t good at: biology. Spoiler alert—it didn’t go as planned. There’s a funny story behind it that I’ll probably write about it sometimes later, if you want to know comment down or dm me. Choosing bio costs me to give up on CS classes.

Then came what I’d call the "Great Coding Hiatus." For three years, I went completely MIA from coding. In my defense, I got way deeper into Math, so there’s that. But here’s why today is special: I got back into coding just about a month ago. I signed up for an online CP platform—the OG of them all—Codeforces. I’m a total newbie there, and I mean newborn status. Watched some intro videos to learn the ABCs of the platform, and I set myself a goal: solve three problems a day.

best part is the slope __init__  O.O

I started with the 800-rating problems, supposedly the easiest ones. Spoiler alert: they were not easy at first! But I pushed through and, after doing 50 of those, leveled up to the 900-rating problems. And you know what? I’m out of the newbie rank now! Officially, I’m a “pupil” on Codeforces. Is it a huge accomplishment? Maybe not in the grand scheme of things, but for me right now, it’s a big deal.


End:

I will be updating my grind here in my blog. Next blog would be specifically about problem solving. At last, It’s not the end result that counts, it’s all about the journey you enjoyed. Happy Learning!


My performance: (Update)


 

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