Next week is the start of school, and after experiencing the longest holiday in history, I want to record some of my thoughts.
Reflection#
In fact, I had plans for postgraduate entrance exams when I was in my third year of college, but it was just a simple idea and I didn't spend too much time researching it. During that time, I mostly caught up on the courses I had missed before. After setting up my own blog, I gradually came across many technical experts, some of whom were even in high school and could write their own blog frameworks. This has greatly changed my understanding of technology and the influence of family, and it made me wonder if it's too late to start working hard now. Am I lagging behind classmates who had better family education? I also saw a young child in kindergarten on Bilibili using an iPad to teach Swift syntax, which reminded me of what I was doing when I was that young.
I was exposed to computers at a relatively early age. It was probably in first grade or even earlier when my family bought a computer with a big CRT monitor. It may have been influenced by my older brothers, but in my impression, computers were meant for playing games. I couldn't explore the underlying aspects of computers like Linus did under the guidance of his grandfather. This was unrealistic in my family, and probably in most families. After all, in early 2000s China, most families didn't have the background like Linus's. Although I'm unclear about the reasons why my father bought a computer or even the nature of his work, I never thought about these things as a child. I was just happy to be able to play games for a while every night.
The memories that follow are a bit blurry. I only remember that later on, my family replaced the computer with a better desktop and a Sony VAIO laptop (you rarely see this brand now). That was the first time I saw a laptop, and it felt quite magical. Later on, I got my own laptop, and I distinctly remember it was a Lenovo with the Windows 7 system. At that time, I mistakenly thought it was Vista because I had seen this trendy interface when I visited someone else's house, and it was much cooler than XP. I think that was in middle school, and that's when I started to finish my homework as quickly as possible so I could start playing games. I never really liked playing online games, I always played cracked versions of single-player games. I didn't even have a concept of copyright back then, I just thought they were fun. I still remember being excited every year when my birthday was approaching because it meant a new Call of Duty game was about to be released. I played from 4 all the way to 9. But I never thought about how games were made.
After high school, I still had the same Lenovo laptop, but I played less. Everyone started playing MOBA games, and in order to fit in, I played with them, but I never really enjoyed playing MOBA games. Actually, high school was the happiest time for me. I had the most relaxed homeroom teacher and made many close friends. After entering university, I even thought that university was more tiring than high school. Maybe I went to a not-so-good school, but I have no regrets about the three happy years in high school.
Postgraduate Entrance Exams or Work#
But thinking about this still makes me feel a bit inferior about my education. It's true that computer science emphasizes skills and doesn't place much importance on education, but in Chinese society, how can talent be selected without considering education? Just like the interview at ByteDance, they bombard you with a bunch of algorithm questions right from the start, and I would be eliminated in that round. It's true that several years of work experience is indeed more important than a master's degree. But if those years of work experience don't involve completing a complete project and only consist of CRUD operations and copy-pasting that only require three keys, then how is it any different from wasting two years? I really wanted to join the software engineering class offered by the university. In essence, it's a training class to adapt to corporate development as soon as possible, but it's really a good opportunity. However, as I kept thinking about it, I missed the registration deadline (￣_,￣ ) So I can only go the route of taking the postgraduate entrance exams, hoping to smoothly navigate the current environment.
Study#
To be honest, it was a bit difficult not playing games for nearly four months, but I got through it. I went through the basics of mathematics and did all the exercises. But I always feel like my efficiency isn't very high, maybe it's because I'm at home.
I haven't memorized any English vocabulary. Memorizing vocabulary is too painful, it's better to read articles and jot down unfamiliar words. After reading Liu Xiaoyan's book on complex sentences, I ended up with a bunch of messy notes. I suddenly miss my high school English teacher. Complex sentences are almost inseparable in structure, and understanding them relies on intuition.
I haven't started studying politics.
I quickly went through the materials for my major courses, after all, I took them last year. But I'm still not good at data structures, I need to strengthen my understanding.
May and June#
Complete the study of the basic parts.
Mathematics: Limits, Mean Value Theorem, and Definite Integrals (a bit weak on volumes).
(Proof questions are weak, can't come up with functions, can't figure out methods)
Focus on major courses.
Read more articles in English, and start doing past papers.
Some Thoughts#
Actually, I really dislike discussing politics, but it's surprising to see so many countries around the world targeting China in the current environment. At first, I felt that the language used by some foreign spokespersons was too harsh, but then I realized that they are actually protecting China, otherwise history might repeat itself. I believe that only the Communist Party is suitable for China's national conditions, and the Great Firewall should exist. In the future, I will try to avoid reading these things and uninstall Twitter.
TV Shows#
If I'm not playing games, I can still watch TV shows. After all, I injured my foot and I need to do something while lying in bed.
- "The Paper House", the professor is as unexpected as ever.
- "Kingdom of the Dead", it's more comfortable to watch without commentary. Kim Jong-un can try some death grass 77.
I hope I won't be in this state anymore...