----------------------------------------THE STREAK -------------------------------------↵
I don't know why I have an obsession with streaks↵
I just ended my **303** streak yesterday. ↵
I kind of forced my streak especially after it got to 100 days. ↵
(my goal was **365** but I solved **380** problems so I guess it was a half success)↵
↵
Felt bad for a minute, but quickly realized that I just "freed" myself.↵
↵
During my **303** day streak I was probably solving easy problems **80%+** of the time ↵
(or perhaps ALL of the problems I solved are very easy for some people here)↵
↵
-------------------------- here are the gains/losses --------------------------------------------↵
to wrap it all up:↵
I improved my _speed_ (reading problem statementsn & implementation)↵
↵
Basically EVERYTHING ELSE would have been better if I did just 2 hard problems each week.↵
↵
At least I learned something from this experience: I'm a friggin*****(who wants to play wordle lol)↵
↵
ANYWAYS I hope that nobody would do this dumb thing like me and waste their time on a streak ↵
↵
instead of doing more fun and challenging stuff↵
↵
(or maybe everyone else is smart enough to figure that out and I'm just slow asf)↵
↵
------------------------------------------- below is a goofy ahh personal story ----- -------------------------------------↵
↵
Anyways, I did some _Usaco_ problems lately and felt that they are very different from the easy problems I did (even in bronze division). They require **less knowledge** but more **thinking**. Even though sometimes I feel stupid (maybe I'm right lol), the process of solving these puzzles made me rekindle my interest in problem solving.↵
(something I feel like I ditched after middle school ...)↵
↵
The major I'm going for is not rly related to cs/math, but I **enjoy** solving those puzzles even if I'm not good at them.↵
↵
As a _high school student living in China_, I got like 0% chance of going to any kind of chinese high school olympiads. This means I'm probably at a disadvantage in terms of applications because i spend time doing many things not related to class work and my college major.↵
↵
CP likely might have nothing to do with my future career. ↵
↵
Still, I think solving puzzles are often very fun and something I can keep doing without getting bored.↵
↵
I think solving these puzzles is as fun if not more as playing games↵
(My favorite game is: [this GOATED CRICKET GAME](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2216130/_/))↵
↵
I don't know why I have an obsession with streaks↵
I just ended my **303** streak yesterday. ↵
I kind of forced my streak especially after it got to 100 days. ↵
(my goal was **365** but I solved **380** problems so I guess it was a half success)↵
↵
Felt bad for a minute, but quickly realized that I just "freed" myself.↵
↵
During my **303** day streak I was probably solving easy problems **80%+** of the time ↵
(or perhaps ALL of the problems I solved are very easy for some people here)↵
↵
-------------------------- here are the gains/losses --------------------------------------------↵
to wrap it all up:↵
I improved my _speed_ (reading problem statementsn & implementation)↵
↵
Basically EVERYTHING ELSE would have been better if I did just 2 hard problems each week.↵
↵
At least I learned something from this experience: I'm a friggin*****(who wants to play wordle lol)↵
↵
ANYWAYS I hope that nobody would do this dumb thing like me and waste their time on a streak ↵
↵
instead of doing more fun and challenging stuff↵
↵
(or maybe everyone else is smart enough to figure that out and I'm just slow asf)↵
↵
------------------------------------------- below is a goofy ahh personal story ----- -------------------------------------↵
↵
Anyways, I did some _Usaco_ problems lately and felt that they are very different from the easy problems I did (even in bronze division). They require **less knowledge** but more **thinking**. Even though sometimes I feel stupid (maybe I'm right lol), the process of solving these puzzles made me rekindle my interest in problem solving.↵
(something I feel like I ditched after middle school ...)↵
↵
The major I'm going for is not rly related to cs/math, but I **enjoy** solving those puzzles even if I'm not good at them.↵
↵
As a _high school student living in China_, I got like 0% chance of going to any kind of chinese high school olympiads. This means I'm probably at a disadvantage in terms of applications because i spend time doing many things not related to class work and my college major.↵
↵
CP likely might have nothing to do with my future career. ↵
↵
Still, I think solving puzzles are often very fun and something I can keep doing without getting bored.↵
↵
I think solving these puzzles is as fun if not more as playing games↵
(My favorite game is: [this GOATED CRICKET GAME](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2216130/_/))↵
↵
