Today marks the one year anniversary of the first video that I posted to my YouTube channel, but to me, it seems just like yesterday. With the COVID-19 pandemic, this year has been simultaneously the shortest and the longest year of my life - and I am sure that this sentiment is the same for many people this year. It certainly does not feel like an entire year has passed, nor that I have recorded and posted over 100 videos to the YouTube channel.

While the pandemic has taken so many things from us, especially as a student, the one hidden gift that it does provide has been time. Time to reflect on the choices we have made, time to learn new exciting things we wouldn't have otherwise, but most importantly, time to grow and explore our passions and dreams. I mean, what else CAN we do, right? When school closed down and switched to remote learning initially in March, our class time reduced, and we had a lot less assignments since our teachers had to readjust everything to work in a virtual setting. That, plus summer break, gave an me an ample amount of time to work on college applications (since I am a senior now!), and the YouTube Channel.

Over this time, I was able to record, edit, and post many more videos than I was previously able to, especially school-related topics such as AP Computer Science. Since quarantine forced everyone into reclusion, another benefit was that more people were watching videos on YouTube, which also helped to grow the YouTube channel quite a bit.

As of now, my YouTube channel has over 2,420 subscribers and over 214,000 combined views. I am so incredibly touched by the nice comments people leave on my videos as well, and I am extremely happy that I am able to make an impact on people through my videos, even if it is small. When I posted my first video, I don't believe I would have ever imagined the level of growth my channel has seen over the last year, especially the last few months. I am incredibly thankful for the viewers, without whom none of this would have been possible.

I am extremely excited for 2021. I will (hopefully) go to college, and I will be able to bring an even greater variety of videos to the YouTube channel! As a senior in high school, I would love to also share a little about what I have learned along the way for future high school students. I would also love to talk more about technology and computer science and relate it to students as well. I look forward to sharing all of this with you thought the next year!

Stay safe, happy, and healthy this holiday season!