I’ve realized that it’s good to reflect on what went well and what I can improve on based on the events that occurred the past week.
This week I got back to swimming for a good amount of days. Although I’m still not insanely training for meets, I’m glad that I’ve gotten the willpower to get back on track with exercise. In December and January, I went to practice at most once or twice, and it felt a little weird completely grinding out competition math and barely meeting the daily suggested requirements for exercise. I went in the water (including meets and practices) four times this past week, and I realized how much a sport can cut down a student’s time to study and do other extracurriculars.
Doing a sport, not to mention getting good at it, in high school is difficult, and it’s understandable why a lot of people leave at this stage. However, I’ll try my best to stay (somewhat) committed to swimming until the end of high school. Unlike violin, I have more potential to get good, and it comes with more benefits such as increased concentration and physical strength.
I’m happy that I got a PB in the 100 backstroke this past meet, especially because I haven’t trained seriously in over six months.
Sports take a lot of time. As a result of my increased swim practices, I spent about three hours total in math and computer science, which is quite similar to all weeks after the AIME. I’m not sure what happened after that test, but one thing I lost was the big drive to grind math. I felt a bit tired and couldn’t immediately get after it in the full-out grind after HMMT. That fatigue gradually wore off, but I’m fully aware that I’m not even spending half as much time on contest preparation as I was in January. Although I could do some easy problems, I felt my fundamentals and my built test-taking ability slipped right through my fingers in the CMIMC tryouts. It’s demotivating, but it’s a good reminder that I need to get after it again. Because the next test will come.
I’ve also started to focus more on developing my reading, writing, and vocabulary skills throughout the week. To improve my sub-par vocabulary, I bought a pack of flashcards with common SAT words written on them. On some days, I’ve memorized about ten to fourteen words, and on some days, zero. I stayed somewhat consistent with reading scholarly articles and scientific journals. Most of this is tailored towards standardized testing preparation, but some of it is also for personal growth and enjoyment.
I’ve increasingly noticed how unstructured my afternoons were because every day, there seemed to be several extra aspects that miss to work on. I would inadvertently spend four hours on math when I haven’t done any English or computer science. To resolve this problem, I’m starting to track time spent on activities on a spreadsheet so I can sort out what tasks need to be done, aligned with my agenda. Astonishingly, each swim practice takes at least three hours, including travel time to the pool. This made me more aware of what I’ll be getting into if I join the school team next year.
And although I’m leaning toward saying yes, it’s not the full story. I’m very likely going to be president of the math club next year, along with my olympiads and schoolwork. I’m still figuring out the complicated mechanics of my life and (sort of) thinking about college.
It’s not set in stone yet.