Text by JERRY FANG
OPPORTUNITY OVERLOAD
Art by SELENA CAO
DEVELOPING PERSONAL INTERESTS IN AN ONLINE ENVIRONMENT
A
MILD SPRING BREEZE With all robotics meetings canceled, I had ers, soaking up as much information as I brushed my face as I glided the opportunity to explore other interests. could every day to build up my personal down the street with the wheels At the beginning of knowledge bank. To under me rolling over the slick quarantine, I stumanyone other than enasphalt. My foot touched the ground, bled across a YouTube I experienced thusiasts, this would which would have propelled me forward tutorial on designing a firsthand how much seem like borderline if not for the board crashing into my heel. mechanical keyboard fanaticism. But to me, I tumbled to the ground, bruised, but not with computer-aided faster I learn things if I it was just a learning seriously hurt — an unfortunate but not design. Mechanical truly enjoy them. frenzy. unexpected outcome. Skateboarding was keyboards have been With activities to just one of the various activities I took up my favorite hobby for keep me occupied induring quarantine to satisfy my boredom. the past two years, and CAD was a skill that side, I needed something to get me outside When the shelter-in-place order start- I always wanted to learn, although I lacked every day. So, I picked up skateboarding — ed, I, like many others, didn’t know what the time and drive to actually do it. Seeing the transportation choice of many teens. to expect. At first I was excited to be out a step-by-step guide made me realize that I Being an avid snowboarder, I’d assumed of school, treating the could design a keyboard that it would be similar. After all, it was just lockdown like an exmyself. For the next the same two feet on a board, right? Well, tended vacation. But as I realized my daily month, I spent hours it turned out they were nothing alike, but I time progressed, I real- life was much closer every day familiarizing still slowly learned. I love skateboarding for ized my daily life was myself with CAD and its simplicity. No handlebars and no seat. much closer to some- to something straight brainstorming design Just me, the board, and the street. thing straight out of a out of a sci-fi ideas until I had a basic This past year led me down new paths sci-fi apocalypse novel. keyboard designed — I never knew existed. I found motivation to Normalcy was at the apocalypse novel. essentially a fancy metal pursue my interests after I figured out how end of a long tunnel, rectangular box. to turn the curse of all the extra time into a and from where I was then, it was pitch With the lack of in-person social ac- blessing. I experienced firsthand how much black. tivity, I turned to online communities. I faster I learn things if I truly enjoy them. Prior to the pandemic, I would go to reconnected with old friends, one of whom And while sometimes I wish that I could be my robotics team’s lab every afternoon, also shared a passion for custom keyboards. back in the robotics lab, I’m glad that I was spending hours among the whir of pow- Seeking to improve my designs, I perused able to find new hobbies and interests that er tools and the laughter of good friends. forums and joined countless Discord serv- propel my thirst for learning. v
54 FEBRUARY 2021
