Post-Final Year Updates

The last month has felt like a long series of endings.

• last exam taken
• last bake chef eaten
• last day living on campus
• ... and probably a bunch I haven’t even noticed

If you read pre-final year feels, then you'll know that I went into this year buried in applications, wanting to make the most of things, and hoping to meet some great people before it all wrapped up.

Some things went according to plan. I started a cheese club (important) and finally studied in TFDL. But also, a lot of it came down to “random” moments.

One day, I made an on-the-spot decision to apply to a student writer position on the UCalgary job board, which turned into a super fun part-time position where I got to write my first real articles!

More significantly, another day I decided to study in Math Sciences for a bit instead of staying in my room. I overheard a friend talking about how his Battlecode team was short of one person. I'd tried Battlecode solo many years ago and failed, so almost didn't say anything, but decided to ask if they'd have me anyway. They said, "why not?" (how reassuring).

I didn't think I’d contribute much but I slowly became completely absorbed in it, learned a ton with their help, and together we qualified to go to MIT for the final championship! Which I also wrote about at my part-time job!! And I'll be working as a new grad with one of the sponsors I met there!!!

Battlecode Finals

Of course, the year wasn’t just times where everything lined up fortuitously. The amount of effort I was putting into Battlecode + writing + schoolwork + applications + cheese club was immense, and with some of them being never-ending tasks (*ahem* Battlecode), you never quite know when to stop. Sometimes you're either stressed out working on something or stressed out about not working on it. Other times you just want to give up entirely.

I spent countless hair-pulling hours on essays and reference-gathering to apply for the Rhodes scholarship and a master’s at Oxford. It was something I'd researched heavily and wanted to go after for a long time, but unfortunately my applications didn't amount to anything in the end. I can rest a bit easier knowing I gave it a real shot, but it still stings a bit sometimes having gone through such a long process for nothing.

Gahhhhh

Additionally, after MIT Battlecode wrapped up, I eased my withdrawal symptoms by participating in the new Cambridge edition of Battlecode - which was even more grueling - and unfortunately, we did not qualify as finalists this time. Maybe “I tried my best” wouldn’t have felt like enough for this one, but working through it with others made it worth it.

Gahhhhh Cambridge Battlecode...

I don’t think the pace of this last stretch was sustainable for much longer. I remember how rough it felt at times. But it was also time-bound, and looking back, I feel proud of how much I leaned into it, whether or not it all panned out.

I’m especially grateful for the people who made this year what it was. Whether it was working on stuff together, providing a small push to make a blog post or application, listening to my rants, or just spending time, thank you for making even the difficult parts worthwhile and making sure there was plenty of fun along the way.

I made some great new friends this year, but what surprised me was the people I grew (or regrew) closer to after having known them for years. It’s funny how reaching out to someone you haven’t talked to in a while can turn into something great.

For what comes next, perhaps it’ll be calmer. That hasn’t been a very reliable prediction so far, but we'll see! At least I won’t have homework to worry about :)

Onto the next...

- Ana