Hobbies & Interests
While I love programming, it's not what I do all day every day. Here are a few things I enjoy outside of work.
Learning Japanese
Learning programming languages is fun, but so is learning human languages! I consume quite a bit of japanese media, whether it be video games, music, or other, and being able to enjoy said media in its native tongue is a goal of mine. I took a Japanese class in university, but learning on my own has been much more fruitful. Progress isn't always great, but it is steady which is the most important thing. The rush of recognizing elements in the wild can't be beat.
Music
I listen to a lot of music. A lot. It helps me relax when I'm stressed. It helps me focus when I need to concentrate on a task. It does it all for me and there's almost always something playing around me. Over they years I've greatly expanded what I listen to and at this point I listen to songs in different languages of different genres. I've discovered that if I don't like a genre, I just haven't found the right song in it yet. Got recommendations. Please send them my way!
Security
This is kind of cheating as it is software-adjacent, but it's too interesting not to list. Software security is fascinating and a field which provides so many learning opportunities and a constantly evolving landscape. This knowledge helps improve your own code, but can also be great fun to participate in capture-the-flags to gamify the experience. I've supplemented my personal learning with university courses, but I feel that diving into what interests you most outside of a curriculum is the way to go here. The "correct flag" ding releases the endorphins.
Video Games
This shouldn't come as a great surprise given the quotes you may have seen at the top of the screen, but since a young age I've loved video games. In fact, they're what got me into programming in the first place when I realized that people had created the things I enjoyed so much and I could do it to. While I don't play them as much as I used to when I was younger, they're still near and dear to my heart.