As I have mentioned above, I consume a lot of art. Unfortunately, my creative output does not match my intake, which is something that I wish to remedy. Where should I direct my output? There are a few avenues that I do pursue currently. These being photography, code (yes it can be an art), and writing. A further elaboration on writing, I mainly write short fiction and some poetry. Some of the issues that I have noticed with my writing in particular is that I have many ideas, but the resolve to work on them over time is lacking. This discipline is something that I need to improve on. After talking with a few people that have many years over me, the method through which I can improve is to simply write more. Not much of a shocker there. Ideally, this site will allow to me have a venue to share some of my writing as well, as I am not yet comfortable enough sharing it to a larger audience. I do love writing though. It can be incredibly cathartic at times, and a great way for me to process thoughts and whatnot. Beyond writing, I code a lot. Since 2019, I've been writing programs consistently. The quality of my work has drastically improved since I began college. The code I write nowadays can begin to be considered art, efficient, elegant, and beautiful at times. This is difficult at times to convey to those without a technical background though. I'll post my work on my github at some point, which will be linked on the site in the near future. The art that I feel most competent in is photography. I feel that I have always had a decent eye for composition, and my family has had two generations of photographers before me. I started with film around 2022 after finding my grandpa's old Minolta. It required some work to get it back up and running, which in of itself was rather satisfying. I'll post some of my photos soon enough as well, it just takes some time to scan the film photos. Be on the Lookout! Finally, where do I want to see more growth in? The most immediate area I want to improve on is painting. I have dabbled in it a bit, but I lack formal training. Sketching is another cool medium I would like to explore more. It is important to me that I am creative in my life, and I hope that I can continue to express my joy of consuming art through the creation of it.

Being capable is a broad, sweeping characteristic, but for me it means a few specific things. I intend to become capable in the following: fitness, outdoorsmanship, radio, hacking, language, and leading. The skills mentioned are ones that I already have experience in, but I know that if I develop them futher (and continuously throughout my life), I will be in a very good place to accomplish many things. First and arguably most important is fitness. I have spent a sizable portion of my life playing sports and being generally active, but I want to shift that focus away from being generally athletic. Endurance is quite important to me, as I love to run. Out of the many categories of fitness, endurance is where I currently feel that I am strongest. That being said, endurance is complemented highly by speed. Training for speed is something I did frequently during my time running track, but I have since fallen away from it a bit. Strength training is also incredibly important to me. These parts of fitness, when done consistenly, will offer me a much higher quality of life than being so sedentary. This is followed by outdoorsmanship. I adore the mountains and the woods, and becoming confident in the skills necessary to thrive in those environments is something that I very much want to pursue. Ideally, it would get to a point where I would feel comfortable leading and training people in these skills. Radio will always be around, and is a hobby I quite enjoy. Being able to communicate over the airwaves is vital in case of an emergency or an area where cell is denied or downed. Out of all the skills I intend to be capable in, I am most proficient in hacking. Years have been spent learning and practicing how to exploit systems and find vulnerabilites. Being able to hack involves more than furiously clacking away at a keyboard though. It requires a deep understanding of low level programming, radio frequencies, networks, curcuits, and more. It will be a lifelong pursuit to become more capable, but even at the level I am at now, many doors are open to me. I love languages. The intricacies of how humans communicate (shocker that I like radio and programming) is genuinely fascinating to me. My love of languages is tied very closely to my love of travel and experience with other cultures. English is great and all, but when I travel, I want to be able to communicate with the locals in their native tongue. I know a bit of French and a can read the Cryillic alphabet plenty fine. I am near fluent in Korean, which is by far my favorite language that I have studied. The others on my to do list (even just to get a working knowledge of) are Polish and Spanish. Polish for no particular reason, but Spanish is a global language. I appreciate the challenge of learning new languages as well, which is a big motivator for me. Finally, leading. It is incredibly important to me that I am able to lead others well. Whether it be in a professional setting, or in the outdoors, or in whatever context, being able to lead is vital. Leadership, like all of the other skills mentiond, requires pracitce. I have past experience leading in circumstances of varying sizes and importance, but I must be able to do it well regardless of the situation. I must be able to help others, and to do that, I must be capable.

My faith drives me to be compassionate. There are numerous verses in the Bible that call for followers of Christ to be compassionate to those around them (Colossians 3:12, Ephesians 4:32, 1 Peter 3:8, Zechariah 7:9-10), but being instructed to should not be the driving force behind compassion. Christ's life is the ultimate example of compassion, and I (and all Christians) should strive to emulate that. Perhaps compaassion needs to be more carefully defined though. Compassion is not feeling sorry for someone (sympathy), nor is it feeling what they feel (empathy). Compassion is empathy with action. It is a compuslion to step into someone else's word and offer what you can.I must continually strive to be more compassionate. It is a characteristic of someone that is truly moved by the human condition, recognizes the inherent worth of people, and acts accordingly. Back to an earlier point, compassion is the product of service, which also ties into leadership. The leader I strive to be is one that serves, quietly. Effective leadership demands putting prioritizing the needs of others over your own. Ultiamtely, the goal of being compassionate is to love others well, just as I have been loved.