Although most of my time spent on GitHub is generally spent working on my Computer Science NEA, I do still try and find time to work on personal projects, be it programming related, or doing things completely separate to my studies.

As I mentioned above, I am a sixth form student in the UK, currently in the first year (Year 12) of my A-Level studies. Although I chose to study subjects which are considered very difficult, I have found my first year so far enjoyable overall. I work part-time as a Lifeguard for a leading health and wellness group, and this - combined with my experiences in school and the Air Cadets - have proven extremely beneficial in developing key soft skills.

As well as programming, I am involved in the Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC) and I go to the gym regularly. These two extra-curricular activities have hugely benefited my skillset, which I have found immensely useful to all other aspects of my life. I also enjoy working on projects which are completely separate to everything else - namely the building of a driving simulator cockpit in my bedroom in order to learn skills such as soldering and other DIY skills.

Programming has been a hobby of mine since 2020, where I began my journey with Python Discord bots. From this humble beginning, I have raised the level of complexity of my code and focused on more and more demanding (and interesting!) projects to broaden and improve my abilities. Below are some of the projects that I have worked on:

• Discord bots
• algorithm-trainer: A Flutter application which allows the user to practice and learn Rubik's cube algorithms for the CFOP and CFOP 2-Look methods of solving
• RusynKeyboard: A QWERTYfied, phonetic Rusyn keyboard layout, designed around a Slovak speaker
• rusyn-website: A website centred around the Rusyn language and people
• ETS2-Autopilot: An advanced automation program which utilises deep learning to enable an autopilot function to exist within Euro Truck Simulator 2
• A third-party implementation of a messaging service for WearOS 2.0
• Other private projects, including an e-commerce website for a paying client

Each of the above projects has contributed to my abilities as a programmer, and it has taught me various skills, from frontend development to deep learning, and I would thoroughly recommend similar projects to anyone who is starting out with programming.