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It's not controversial to say that the internet has gotten so stale nowadays, right? In the natural human desire to innovate and optimize, we’ve consolidated ourselves to only a couple of sites that provide relatively similar content, doing anything they can to keep our attention for as long as we allow them to siphon money from us. I feel like I was born at a perfect time where I can sort of remember the early 2010’s era of the internet where this trend was only starting to begin, and the computer was some arcane magical device that brought me Super Mario videos if I could figure out how to spell it. Being a lot older and slightly more pathologically curious, I spend a lot of time online reading about things that interest me, which unsurprisingly includes the internet itself. While doing research, I’ve noticed that writing a webpage in html and sending it to friends was much more commonplace in the early adoption of the internet, before the institution of social media platforms, and that fascinated me. Such a task feels oddly intimate, like receiving a letter in the mail, but with the benefit of being able to see it wherever you can find the internet. So, allow me to attempt to replicate that experience.

AP Physics is easily the most transformative course I’ve ever taken in my life. Not because I did well– far from it. I’m pretty sure I was the worst performing student that year. Never have I experienced a genuine fear when simply thinking about a class, there were points where I would think about it so much that I would have nightmares about being in this class. For my entire junior year, my daily schedule was dedicated to improving my status in this class. I’ve even picked up journaling to deal with the stress. This class broke me, and it was the best thing that could have happened that year. I started the class extremely prideful and severely underestimated what I was getting myself into.

The truth is, I needed to experience failure to such a degree in something that I am passionate about, so I can know how to learn and grow from it. My academic weaknesses were completely exposed, and from there I am able to rebuild and prepare myself for when I don’t have the luxury of knowing that it’s “just a high school class.” Being mediocre was never good enough, I had to excel far beyond what I thought was possible. Yes, I ultimately failed, but I have learned so much from just being there. So, I’d like to offer thanks. I know what to expect come college time because of this class. I know the road ahead is not going to be easy, and I had a real taste of what that road may be.

A part of me thinks that you were disappointed in my poor performance considering all the scientific activities I’ve participated in prior to attending the class. The other part of me thinks you didn’t care about any of that. Whichever possibility it was, you have served your purpose in teaching me a life lesson, and I owe a lot to you.

Anyway, the communication line is always open. At the bottom of this page, you can find my contact information. The website itself will be updated to include projects I’m working on, if you’re curious. If you want to get in contact with me for any reason, don’t hesitate to reach me at the contacts on the website.

I wish you the absolute best that this life has to offer. I hope this letter serves as an adequate acknowledgement of the benefit that you have brought into my life. May God bless your journey ahead. I’ll leave off with one of my favorite quotes by Henry David Thoreau in his journal, Walden, “Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star.” In no uncertain terms, every day is an opportunity to move forward and improve on yourself—to awaken to your own becoming, to rise toward the life only you can create. I still have much yet to learn, but I’m glad I was able to learn alongside you.