Time only knows how to age people, but I don't believe in excessive emotions. I long for the pavilion of parting, where tears stain the spring garment and wine easily awakens.
The wutong trees were battered by the west wind last night, and the faint moonlight revealed frequent dreams and sudden surprises. Where is the high tower from which a solitary goose cries out?
—Yan Shu, "Gathering Mulberry Leaves"
Preface#
Time flies like a white steed, slipping through the gaps between our fingers, turning and tumbling, until it leaves no trace behind. As I typed the title "Year-end Review," I found myself unable to recall many things as I wandered through my memories. It was only when these gradually clear memories sprang forth from my fingertips that I began to pick up these fragments.
(To be honest, I don't have the habit of writing year-end reviews. It was a suggestion from a good friend.)
First Mock Exam: Just the Beginning#
In fact, the first mock exam was not a significant part of my 2022, as it only took place less than two weeks before the actual year began. I remember it was still offline at that time, but upon careful reflection, I realized that I had lost track of when exams ceased to stir any waves in my heart. I only remember the joint efforts with my good friends before the mock exam, and in the end, I achieved a ranking of around 160 in the district, which was considered passable.
Winter Vacation: Bid Farewell to the Old, Prepare for the High School Entrance Exam#
From the start of winter vacation, I had to prepare for the high school entrance exam. However, I considered myself to be at an average level, so I spent most of my time on unguided practice. I remember completing nearly four years' worth of second mock exam papers, repeatedly memorizing the basic knowledge of Chinese language in five B5 notebooks, totaling about 80 pages. It was the most diligent I had ever been. During that time, I would take a test and recite the basic knowledge every day, but I also immersed myself in the joy of the new year.
The Second Semester of Grade Nine: Complexity, Tension, and Surprises#
Thanks to the extensive practice during winter vacation, I achieved first place in the second mock exam, with a district ranking of around 50 out of 11,000, which was quite satisfying.
However, our exam preparations encountered some setbacks. The physical education exam, which included volleyball and skipping rope, was suddenly canceled in April. The experimental operation test for physics and chemistry was canceled as well. Just before the admission process, the comprehensive evaluation interview, which was worth 10 points, was also canceled. Before the high school entrance exam, I received promises of admission to JDFZ's experimental class and an A+ comprehensive evaluation score from FDFZ, but there was still no news from my preferred school, EFZ... I will talk about these later.
From March to May, there were continuous online classes, stagnation in the development of Shanghai's economic center, the magical epidemic prevention policies of the government, and the love-hate relationship between residents and ensuring supplies. The complexity of these matters made me somewhat numb. Additionally, as a sensitive Cancer sign, the sorrow of being separated from my good friends constantly haunted me... As the high school entrance exam approached, perhaps due to sufficient preparation in the early stages, I didn't feel much pressure. I performed well in several school exams.
Facing a major exam in life still made me somewhat nervous, but my body's stress response didn't hinder my performance due to insomnia the night before. After experiencing a day of tension, I was no longer anxious. (In fact, the next morning, I wanted to sleep in and didn't want to get up for the exam.)
Summer Vacation: Rest and Harvest#
Due to the postponement of the high school entrance exam due to the pandemic, I had to immediately immerse myself in intense preparations for the self-admission process after the exam. Since EFZ had not given me a definite response until the self-admission choices had to be made, I spent the whole day in turmoil and ultimately bowed to reality. I filled in JDFZ as my first choice. Soon, news spread that I had received a perfect score of 10 in the comprehensive evaluation, causing the situation of high school admissions to change dramatically. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to modify my choices, so I confidently filled in the name and code of EFZ for both the self-admission and the high school entrance exam.
In the following four days, I spent four hours each night memorizing all the vocabulary for the college entrance exam. Starting at 7 a.m. each morning, I completed a rough review of the self-admission exam questions from the past 10 years of the top four high schools. However, to my surprise, EFZ did give me the opportunity to take the self-admission exam. I went through the written test and interview and entered East China Normal University Affiliated High School, embarking on a new chapter. Even when I saw others nervous about the release of the high school entrance exam results and admissions, I still felt grateful for the effort I had put in at that time.
During the tense period of waiting for the exam results, my middle school organized a graduation trip to Disneyland. I spent a wonderful day there with the girl I liked, bidding farewell to my classmates from middle school and ending that chapter on a perfect note. (The school had been planning this trip since before the first mock exam, but we were always afraid it would be canceled due to the pandemic.)
By the way, when taking graduation photos, many teachers were under quarantine, so I sat in the teacher's seat.
The rest of the summer vacation was spent making efforts to prepare for the knowledge needed for the new school year. I also reviewed my knowledge of information technology competitions and prepared for high school life. I spent time setting up my first Hackintosh, attempted to build a Stirling engine (but failed), made an alcohol lamp and distilled medical alcohol for fuel, bought a server and created my own blog, CLCK's Blog (although I later switched from WordPress to a static website hosted on Vercel for convenience and cost savings), and played the GTNH modpack online with classmates until we were exhausted. I also learned to play Hearts of Iron IV, but my German troops were pushed back by the Baltic States... Overall, it was very interesting, and I learned a lot.
Start of High School: A New Beginning, A New Journey#
I was overwhelmed by a group of geniuses as soon as I arrived at Second High School Attached to East China Normal University! But I started preparing for information technology competitions and had two weeks of intensive training during the suspension of classes. Fortunately, the content during that time was not too difficult, and I am grateful for the notes provided by the top students in my class!
I became the information officer and agricultural officer of the student council at Huaqi High School. Now, I am someone who occupies 20 square meters of land in Zhangjiang, Shanghai (laughs). In my spare time, I also set up WeChat and QQ school walls for Second High School, making high school life quite exciting.
In addition, my academic performance has always been above average, as I didn't have much time to focus on cultural courses this semester due to being extremely busy. Starting from 2023, I will have to seriously focus on my academic performance in school! It is a bit regrettable that I missed out on a first-class award in the CSP-S Advanced Group due to the cancellation caused by the pandemic. I also lost points in the NOIP competition because I mistakenly placed the code that needed to clear multiple test data sets after the input, resulting in a score of zero. On the other hand, our FRC club won the National Entrepreneurship Award. I am grateful for my excellent teammates!
I had the privilege of meeting good friends Aeilot Manwu and MrWillCom. We started working on some front-end projects and gained knowledge in software development. At the same time, to help others and organize my own learning, I created the website Shanghai High School Textbook Knowledge Compilation, and I also contributed to my classmate's website, ChemWiki.
Afterword#
2023 is about to begin, and I hope for new achievements and to become a better version of myself in the coming year!
All things welcome the arrival of spring and bid farewell to the last month of the year, as the year comes to an end tonight.