Hobbies

Video Games and Virtual Reality

Whether I'm hanging out online with friends in Destiny 2 or Golf With Your Friends, or being transported to another world in Half-Life: Alyx or Skyrim, video games are my favorite way to pass the time. This has become especially true with the advent of consumer virtual reality, where I can put on my VR headset and become completely immersed in an entirely new universe. Ever since trying VR for the first time years ago I have been fascinated both by the technology behind it, and the potential it has for incredible experiences. I genuinely believe it is the future of entertainment, and hope to be a part of making that future a reality.

Drawing

As an engineer it is unsurprising that I enjoy creating things, but up until just over 2 months ago this had never included art of any kind. It has always been something I hoped to learn, but I lacked the confidence to actually start. But after years of putting it off, I finally convinced myself to sign up for a drawing class during July of 2023 and have been practicing ever since! I of course have a LOT to learn about drawing, but I am enjoying trying out different topics and mediums to figure out what my favorites are. Someday I hope to be able to illustrate any characters and stories that I imagine, even though this seems like a huge mountain to climb.

Cooking

Most of the time after a full day of work, I really want to sit down and enjoy some delicious food. Some of those days though, I want to have fun making this food first! It started with wanting to be able to eat my favorite recipes of my mom's even while away from home, but has expanded to include all types of tastes and cuisines. From my all time favorite bacon-tomato pasta sauce to homemade kimchi to chocolate-strawberry spirals, I will gladly try making just about any recipe. Not all of them turn out well, but getting to try out different recipes and work with new ingredients is still a great experience every time.

Trying New Things

While all of the hobbies mentioned above are things I enjoy doing, I am always searching for new experiences which I've never done before. This includes anything from learning to snowboard which I did last winter, to trying to teach myself game dev using the Godot engine, to travelling to a location I have never been to such as my study abroad trip in Japan during my undergraduate degree. While I might not keep up with every single activity as consistently as my other hobbies, seeing all the fun things the world has to offer has become a hobby in and of itself!