4 Years Later... It Finally Paid Off

Oct 13 (edited) in Self Improvement & Motivation

Yesterday was one of the best days I've had, and I wanted to share some experiences that I think will help you better understand this world and navigate through it.

Since 7th grade, I was that kid who watched countless videos on YouTube, constantly wondering, "How does YouTube even know what I'm watching? Why does Google Search show me results similar to what I wanted to search for?" Being curious but clueless, I decided to search for "How does YouTube work?" I still remember a video by Tom Scott where he explained how they use deep learning and machine learning to suggest videos. This was about 4-5 years ago. While the core principles remain the same, the algorithms have become more robust over time. That’s when I became truly fascinated by machine learning (ML).

From that point on, I delved deeper into the field—reading research papers, watching explanatory videos, and learning about deep learning, natural language processing (NLP), and neural networks. It was awesome! My curiosity was insatiable, and I often felt a bit sad that I hadn't discovered these interests earlier. But hey, I know them now, and that's what matters. Simply watching videos and reading papers wasn’t enough to truly understand and apply these concepts, so I started my coding journey.

My first programming language was... haha, you’re probably thinking Python, right? Nope, it was HTML. I know, I know—it’s not a programming language. But I was just a kid who didn't quite understand what that meant, so I started with the basics of web development: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These aren’t AI-related, but that’s what my brother suggested, so I listened to him. However, my real journey began with Python—the first true programming language I learned. I’ve spent countless hours mastering it.

For all those people out there, Python is just normal English! Don’t say you don’t know how to code in Python unless you don’t know English—that’s a different story. Maybe try Bhailang for all you Hindi-speaking folks out there (you know what I mean! 😂).

Then I discovered USACO. As a naive 8th or 9th grader, I thought, "Huh, USACO is easy; I can solve all the problems in my sleep." Yup, I actually said that. But when I attended the previous contest and attempted a platinum problem, I realized I couldn’t even understand it, let alone code a solution. My initial arrogance and overconfidence went straight out the window. I moved down to the bronze level, where I could grasp about half of the problems, but still had no clue where to start on some. It was incredibly depressing.

During that tough time, I talked to my mom about my struggles. One important thing I learned is that when you face problems, you should talk to your parents or loved ones. It sounds like common sense, but many people forget and end up suffering alone. Sharing your struggles with someone you trust is crucial. Trust me, if I hadn't talked to my parents and friends, I would have remained the sad kid who never opened up. After talking to my mom, I felt better and dove back into contests and projects with renewed determination.

I spent about 3-4 hours every day learning and practicing, and eventually, I was able to solve all the bronze problems. It might not sound like a big achievement, but seeing that progress was incredibly rewarding. I continued practicing relentlessly and discovered that C++ is a better language for competitive programming, though much harder to learn. It’s crazy to see how I can now understand and code in C++. Every summer, I dedicated myself to improving my skills.

Yesterday finally felt like one of those breakthrough days. I was participating in a LeetCode contest and struggled with the last problem—there were four in total, and I usually solved only 2-3. But yesterday, I managed to solve that final problem, and OMG!!!!!!!!! I was sooooo happy. You have no idea how big of a dream it was to get that last question’s solution accepted because, typically, my solutions weren't fast or efficient enough. But yesterday, I nailed it, solving all four problems in under 13 minutes. All the time I spent during the summers and the school year finally felt like a payoff.

So, the reason I'm sharing this is to say that you should try and stay consistent. I guarantee that it will pay off. It took me about 4 years, and it might take you one or more, but if you're passionate about it, it will be worth it.

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." — Albert Schweitzer

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