Closing out this year, I must say that it was a terrific experience. In the start of the year, I was able to lose 20 kilos in 5 months. This was no small accomplishment, as I was very overweight from all the staying at home due to COVID. My lifestyle also improved drastically, going to sleep much earlier and being much better at controlling my temper.
Towards the middle of the year, I had my second internship with Amazon. This was a wonderful experience as I got to meet so many new people. While the work was online, I was still able to go into the office and experience what life would be like once people were working normally again. It was around this time where I also graduated from UBC! It’s absolutely unbelievable that looking back to when I just graduated high school, I could have never known what degree I would end up graduating with! Such is life.
Towards the last quarter of the year, I started my masters program at Simon Fraser University. I met a lot of friends, pulled many late nights working on many group projects, and met my wonderful girlfriend. Absolutely one of the most memorable experiences of my university career.
Goals of 2022
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Be better at interpersonal skills. This year has made me realize that so much of professionalism is not about how smart you are, or how much you can do. It’s how you treat others, and how you communicate with them.
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Learning much more about security & technology. I’m still only dabbling in bits and pieces of the information security space. There’s still so much to learn and I would love to further improve my skills.
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Read 10 books this year. Reading has always been my top priority.
Final Words
If I have learned anything from this previous year, it’s that change is sudden and comes at the least expected time. I would have never imagined that meeting my classmates would change my life so much. If you told me that I would have made more friends in this past year than I have over my entire 4 years of undergrad, I would have called you nuts!
Being prepared for the unexpected. Being adaptable. That is what life is all about. As Seneca said:
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
Good luck everyone.
Omar Tsai