It all started with origami?
Since SD (elementary school), I really liked origami. So when I got my own computer in SMP (middle high school), I tried to find ways on how to make my own origami diagram. I always see the diagrams as a clean design and I want to learn about it. I think it was Jo Nakashima (?) who first introduced me to Inkscape for origami diagramming.
Then, I had explored a lot of Inkscape. I accidentally learn how to make graphic design. This way, I too accidentally gained my own design sense. My peers doesn't even know about Corel Draw, but here I am, a first-year middle schooler with a design software. Obviously, my skills was meh at that time. I tried watching tutorial videos, but I ended up not following them and just did my own thing. I feel dumb. But, yea, that's me on middle high school. Check out one of my designs that I made for my school field trip to Borobudur on my last year in middle high school.
Like, friggin how tf can a 14 year old me made this? I still can't comprehend what tf did I do. If you zoom enough, the image is pixelated and yes, when I made this, I didn't even know that Inkscape can export design. I ended up screenshotting it and pasting it on Paint. LOL.
Designing and (animating) things
So yea, up until SMA (high school), I was really into graphic design, and motion design actually. I had joined my school magazine team to be the Editor. The editor here is not like a reviewer or smth, our task was to "decorate" the article. And yes, I went overboard most of the time. I too learn about motion design and I ended up animating our school logo like the animation of the studio logos in movies, using After Effects. Yea, I am using an office laptop with shitty GPU. The rendering took overnight at that time.
About ~9 years (last year) after making it, I saw that my school is still using it. But I can't find the evidence. Trust me bro. But yea, idk how tf I have the capability to make that.
Oh, when I'm bored, I once made a custom app icons for my phone. For all apps.
Being introduced to Computer Science, mildly
If you know about the Indonesian curriculum, you know that a bit of computer science was taught in high school. Especially mathematical logics (Modus Ponens, Modus Tollens, etc.) and boolean algebra. Guess what? I aced failed miserably, 3x. And my math teacher gave up and pass me.
During my computer class, we had been taught c++. But I couldn't understand anything and ended up barely passing by remembering the code as is. I mean, coding is not a "remembering" thing. It is an "understanding" thing.
Ok so fastforward to OSN-K season. For more context, in Indonesia, the NOI is called OSN Informatika / Komputer, and it has 4 (now 5) stages: school (OSN-S) -> city (OSN-K) -> province (OSN-P) -> national (OSN). Now the national one was divided into semifinal and final. But that's now, lets go back to the time I'm in high school. Read more about the Indonesian NOI here https://osn.toki.id/ (Bahasa Indonesia).
The school stage (OSN-S) was there to limit the number of students sent by the same school. And since I came from a not-so-popular school and I only had ~70 students of the same grade, we basically didn't have this OSN-S stage. Everyone can compete in OSN-K. And, the computer teacher asked me to represent our school in OSN-K. uhhhh? Me? I can skip class? Oh f*ck yes. So I took the opportunity to skip class.
No, I didn't learn anything. I had asked my brother who's in CS major and he gave me a big book of discrete math. I skimmed through it and called it a day. And then the OSN-K day comes. I am super excited to skip class.
When I saw the questions, it was a Multiple Choice Questions of basic Computer Science concepts. You can grasp the syllabus here https://osn.toki.id/silabus/kota (Bahasa Indonesia). But yea, it's quite fun. I didn't care getting a -1 when I got an incorrect answer and a +4 when I got one right. I didn't care about the test since they put a stack of McD chicken right in front of me before the time ends (I was sitting in the front row) and all I could think of was how juicy would the chickens be. So, all I did for the OSN-K was, randomly choosing an answer. I tried filling it in, but I couldn't care less since I already got an excuse to skip school and a free fried chicken.
When I finished, a schoolmate of mine who also got dragged to the OSN-K by our computer teacher, came up to me:
Him: "How did you do? How many questions did you answer?"
Me: "I randomly answer the MCQs, I fill in all questions"
Him: "Dude, you can't just randomly answer, you will get a minus for it"
Me: "I know, I know. ANYWAYS lets go watch a movie."
Fast forward, a month later, when the provincial stage has passed. I just got the information that. Apparently. I. Had. Passed. OSN-K. I. Me. I passed??? Yo how tf. But since I couldn't care less about it, I didn't follow any information regarding the OSN. Since all I was looking for was an excuse to skip school. But yea, that's my story on OSN.
Weirdly enough, now I manage OSN preparation classes. I too also took part as the technical committee of the national OSN in 2023 years later. Me, someone who dumbfully failed the provincial stage. But that is for another story.
Time to choose majors
I'm in grade 12. My time in high school is about to end. It's time to choose a major for university. Actually, my decisive peers usually had their uni life planned since grade 11 so they can find and prepare for the entrance exam/scholarship. Me?
I don't even know what major I want to get. But it would either be Design or CS. My parents want me to go to business but meh, I don't want to.
Ok, why CS though? So, when it was time to apply, somehow my gut feeling told me I need to consider CS. Perhaps it was because I liked how CS was represented in the OSN-K. And how I see debugging as an advanced wordsearch. Yes, I like wordsearch puzzles.
My family initially wanted me to go to ITB for the CS, the place where everyone knows it was the best for CS at that time. But, uh, as a public university and the admission needs me to learn about the science stuff that was irrelevant to CS. And, I would need to spend my first year in uni to learn those science stuff and only start learning about CS on the second year. I tried preparing for the admissions, but ig I just don't want to go there the major was too competitive as everyone wants to join that major.
So, I chose BINUS University! Yay. I applied for design and CS. I applied both, hoping I would get rejected in one of the options. Nope. Okay, I tried applying for an entrance scholarship too for both majors, but turns out I got scholarship for both. Oh shiii. Now what.
Yea, you guessed it! It's on the title!
A COIN TOSS!
I COULDN'T CHOOSE OKAY.
I got CS. So here I am. And no, I didn't question the result of the toss. I just followed it as is.
AND I DIDN'T ASSIGN WHAT THE HEAD REPRESENTS AFTER THE COIN FALLS YA!
That is it for me this time. More on my journey in CS major next time.
Bonus: During the university time, I didn't leave out my design me behind: I had learned about unity. I learn about 3d modelling and AR/VR. I had made a 3d App Maquette Viewer.
Cool, right? Again, I can't believe I made this.