Ravit's Blog

So today is Saturday, October 7th. Yesterday was the end of Week 1 of the quarter, meaning that we have about 10 more weeks before Winter Break, which doesn't seem like a lot. Summer this year was eventful. Firstly, I joined Smash Gyms for about two months, which I attended in the evenings after coming home from my internship. I attended the Muay Thai and Strength/Conditioning classes mostly. Secondly, I interned this summer at the same place I had interned at last summer, Cadence Design Systems. I enjoyed my time there and I didn't feel very stressed. Thirdly, during the last three weeks of summer break, which were also roughly the first three weeks of September, my parents went to India, leaving me and my brother to take care of the home, which we did. Now that I am growing older, I feel that I should be more careful about the words I choose, particularly on a public-facing blog like this one. There are pros and cons to this blog being public. The self-critical voice inside m...

I just realized something that is simultaneously great and terrible--that hard work is the key to satisfaction. It is great because it means that if you work hard, life will be better. But at the same time, it is terrible because it means that you have to work hard even if you don't want to. I woke up around 8:30 full of fear, worry, and frustration. After I finished a long day of work (~10 hrs work at least I think), however, I feel satiated and fine. I still have a lot of work, but I feel a little calmer. I also had a random thought a few days ago that I thought I would talk about. Religion seems like not just one thing but rather a combination of multiple things. It is the stories and literature or mythology that comprise the story it tells. E.g. The Ramayana It is a set of rules by which you must live your life and tells you your values. E.g. The Ten Commandments It is your personal relationship with God. It is a source of comfort and love to help you get through tough times an...

I realized yesterday that I haven't been living up to my full potential. I have been doing my math homework at the last moment, going to bed late, skipping lectures, and underperforming in my classes. I have been lazy, staying in bed a lot and watching too much YouTube. The fact that I have been lacking is not good for my reputation or academic performance, but it also makes me feel lowly and rotten inside. Yesterday, I had dinner with a fellow CS student, who impressed me in a few ways. Firstly, he seemed to have a vast knowledge of math during our discussion, mentioning his enrollment in honors complex analysis and discussing some advanced mathematical concepts. Secondly, he secured an internship at SpaceX, for which he completed an 8-hour interview problem. Thirdly, he talked about how he built a productivity app in CS97 that reached a hundred downloads in the past week. Additionally, he appeared to have a vast social group, referencing clubs such as StartupUCLA, and personally ...

  On occasion I find myself relieved that the human lifespan, typically speaking, is as long as it is. Because when I read the great works of the writers who immaculately and beautifully string together words with masterful precision and beauty when I gaze upon the artwork of artists who have a creative imagination and incredible technique too, and when I listen to the controlled, intentional keystrokes of master pianists, I am overwhelmed by a great sense of inferiority and awe. In part, this drives me to continue on my mission of becoming a better artist. I imagine that when he was my age, Jordan Peterson would have been a better artist in nearly every conceivable manner. Better writer, better speaker, better artist, better pianist, better dresser. And the attainment of these tremendous artistic capabilities obviously is not something that can be cultivated in an instant but rather requires the dedication of many quiet, focused hours. So, I do want to become a more cultured per...

Hey everyone, It's been a number of months since I last posted so I wanted to write a little check-in post. I don't have much to advertise about my life over the course of this past school year, except to assure my hypothetical readers that I am in sound health and that I am in no grave danger, which unintentionally sounds like something an abductee would be forced to say to a camera at gunpoint. I have faced some challenges in recent months, as is natural through the progression of life, pertaining to my professional and personal life. I don't wish to get into the details of these difficulties at the moment because I am still working through them and I think that writing about them at this uncertain moment would burden me more than I would like. But rest assured, I have written them down and intend to discuss some if not all of them after they have been resolved to some extent. Additionally, I have achieved one major milestone which brings me much joy, that is, submitting ...