On July 7, 2023, I participated in my first Codeforces contest — a Div. 3 round. I solved two problems, marking the beginning of my Codeforces journey.

On May 25, 2024, after countless ups and downs, I finally reached Specialist! Over those eight months, my performance fluctuated wildly. I had come as close as reaching 1396 Rating in February 2024 — just one step away from Specialist! But reality was unforgiving — I soon dropped back down. Nevertheless, I kept improving, even if at a slow pace.

After that, I kept bouncing between Specialist and Pupil. During this time, a major event occurred: I entered middle school, and the academic pressure intensified. However, that did not stop my passion for informatics. On October 19 and 20, 2024, I competed in two contests and delivered performances that even surprised myself — spanning three rating levels in just three contests. Just before CSP, I finally reached Expert!

But then came a devastating blow: I did poorly in CSP. Deeply frustrated, I left my school’s informatics competition team and haven’t returned since, shifting my focus to school subjects instead. In 2025, I joined the physics competition team — another big step for me.

On January 17, 2026, a beautiful weekend day, I looked at my computer, which had been lying dormant in the corner. Memories suddenly flooded back. Without hesitation, I turned it on, registered for that day’s Codeforces contest, and decided to give the Div. 2 round a try.

Surprisingly, even after a year, I had not lost my touch. Sitting in front of the computer, my dormant knowledge suddenly awakened: I solved five problems in one go!

After a year of silence, informatics competition had never faded from the depths of my mind — instead, it had quietly evolved.

Suddenly, I regained my confidence. I used my spare time to compete in contest after contest. Although I dropped back to Specialist again at one point, I adjusted my mindset, regrouped, fought through obstacles, and achieved Rating increases in six consecutive contests.

It seems that informatics competition truly is something deep in my soul.

For now, I’m still focusing on physics. But I treat informatics competition as a passion — not for awards, not for an AK at IOI, but simply for the joy it brings me, for the happiness when “Pretest Passed” lights up on the screen.

2090 Rating is not the endpoint — it’s just a starting point.