January 01 2025 • 3 min read

2024 - A Year of Growing Pains & Grateful Gains

You know what's funny? This year taught me that being an introvert doesn't mean you have to figure everything out alone (though I definitely tried!). Looking back at 2024, I'm sitting here grinning at how much has changed.

The Timewise Adventure: When AI Met Reality

First up - the Timewise project. Oh boy, did I underestimate what building a chatbot would be like! I thought it'd be like putting together IKEA furniture - just follow the instructions, right? WRONG. But working with Dr. Di Xu, Dr. Qiujie Li, and my sister Zilu made it feel less like a mountain to climb and more like an adventure. Huge thanks to Lowe Rhett for being my AWS lifesaver - without him, our chatbot might've ended up living in my laptop instead of the cloud! Making it to the top 5 finalists? That was pretty sweet, not gonna lie.

The Great PhD Hunt

Then came the PhD application season - talk about an emotional rollercoaster! My confidence was about as low as my laptop's battery at the end of a workday. But somehow, through this amazing chain of people (shoutout to Dr. Yu Su, Dr. Xinya Du, and Dr. Wei Yang), I landed at UTD. Still can't believe that worked out!

PhD Life: Expectations vs. Reality

Now, about this PhD life... Nobody warned me it would be like trying to juggle while learning to ride a bicycle - backwards. The first two months? Pure chaos. I was that person who said "yes" to every project like I was collecting Pokemon cards. Spoiler alert: that wasn't my brightest move. My advisor basically had to tell me "you're busy doing everything but achieving nothing" - ouch, but fair!

The Plot Thickens: Growth & Realizations

There were definitely those moments when I thought about quitting. You know, those late-night thoughts like "maybe I should become a professional nap taker instead?" But here's the thing - the more I stuck with it, the more I realized this PhD journey is exactly the kick in the pants I needed. It's forcing me to grow up, manage my time, and actually think about what I want instead of just going with the flow.

The Real MVP: Long-Distance Love

The hardest part? Being away from my wife. But she's been my rock through all this - dealing with my stressed-out calls and probably too many messages about research problems she couldn't care less about (but still listened to anyway).

Looking Ahead: 2025, Let's Dance!

Looking ahead to 2025, I've got a bunch of unfinished projects and research ideas that I'm actually excited about (who would've thought?). I'm still figuring things out, but hey - at least now I know that's part of the process!

P.S. To My Better Half

And to my wife - thanks for putting up with this chaos. You're the best thing that happened to me, and that's not just the sleep deprivation talking! ❤️