Where IOI Sunshines!

   For this special post let me introduce myself in another way. Let me tell you the very brief story. In grade 7 and by chance, I was introduced to programming and problem solving. It has this deep logic and deep understanding of computational problems which I loved the idea of representing  them as with couple of expressions and terms. However, for the following six years I have been crazy by problem solving. I dreamed....really dreamed of going to the IOI (International Olympiad in Informatics). Finally I had the opportunity to participate in IOI 2012 and IOI 2013.

    In my opinion, this year's IOI was really special. In Queensland, "where Australia sunshines" (as they say in Australia), I spent one of the most amazing weeks of life in a very beautiful country and of course majestic university, University of Queensland. Green spaces are enormous! It has vast numbers of plants and animals which are ,as many people agreed with me, really different from those you might find in any other country. I can't forget the day we spent in the Australian zoo. We saw Australian crocodiles, birds, koalas and most important kangaroos. Somethings I noticed about Kangaroos, they are very peaceful, very funny, like to enjoy their time and if they felt bored they start jumping! Also we saw wombats, I recommend you google the name cuz its hard to describe them! , but anyway they are dangerous animals which IOIers will  never forget cuz the hardest problem in this year's IOI was named after them.

Feeding a baby Kangaroo!

     Although some technical problems have happened in the first exam day, I would still say the organization was great! The team guides are in our age and very friendly. In my case, our team was really close to Lin Yan (Rachel) our fantastic team guide and we made friends with other team guides as well. Each day and at least till midnight, the comma room was full of contestants and team guides playing card games. I had the honor to stay in one of the top universities in the world. I loved the dorms in Grace college I have even wrote a message for the girl staying in the room I stayed in! And the great library and the huge garden where we played with our boomerang.

The garden in front of the university library.

Playing drums in the comma room and........
*badomtesssss*
[sound]

     When you think about it International competitions and IOI specifically is bigger than being "just a competition". It is a real chance for all participants to open up their brains and lighten the small lamps in their minds. If you were determinant and serious enough to observe and learn, you will definitely learn many new things about different countries and cultures. Consequently, you will start to be more accepting and appreciating other people. So let me tell you this story, unfortunately, my country Egypt had many limitations in coaching as few trainers, small training time and small capacity for trainees. This has affected me a lot and I always thought of how my skills would have improved if I wasn't moving almost "blindly" in programming. I felt responsible to help other teenagers willing trying to excel in programming and problem solving. In IOI, I was keen on asking different teams about their preparation for the contest and about ways their country encourages young programmers. After asking different contestants, it seemed that we have an international problem. The problem seriousness may vary but you would find many similarities between different countries.

      Realizing this, has boosted my feeling of the so-called "World Citizenship", feeling that all people are citizens in one country "Earth". I felt responsible for helping teenagers facing same barrier I faced years ago not only in Egypt but in any place of the world. Then I started to think about different Initiatives that could help IOIers around the world and enhance the performance of programmers in the next years. I wish if anybody wants to co-operate to contact me as soon as possible. So thanks for the IOI which catalyzed my brain to "Think Big"! For the great people who hosted us and for the wonderful long lasting friendships I made. Thanks for the unforgettable week and for the rewarding experience.

Watch out for Your Pen

       Choices......they form an important dimension that could be used in defining us. We can show how amazing we are, how unique and how creative. It reflects our preferences, thoughts and personality. And so, in my opinion, we should be only proud of things we choose. Cuz if you thought about it, you'd find that it is all we, humans, can do...to choose. And unfortunately, we don't always have this precious opportunity to do so.

       I entered many discussions (or shall I say fought in many discussions!) and lent my ears to others. Some people claim that family has the largest share in forming our characters, passions and so choices. I agree with those people in the presence of a correlation between an individual's character and his family members'. But it is less likely to affect his choices and if it did sometimes it is in the opposite direction like the one who have become so social, while his parents are trying to limit his social interaction, and the one who doesn't control his money expenditure, because his parents are so miserly. However, the exact family role is controversial,  mainly because many other factors get into, but let's come into an intersecting point. Everybody agrees a family has a role in everybody's life and everybody also agrees that it doesn't play the 100% role. So we can say it is partially affective, some place between 0 and 100.

       Many People are proud of their achievements others are proud of what their family achievements because they somehow contributed in them. But some people go far, I know many people who are proud because their grand grandfather was "famous". Even further, I know some people are very proud what their grandfather did from 7000 years did. Hosssssssssh don't tell anybody about that , PLEASE!

        But when are choices annoying? when should they cause regression ? I like to think about the process of choosing not as an exam of choosing correctly but an exam of a choosing methodology. They are not the same. I don't blame myself for choosing the wrong choice, but I blame myself to choose wrongly. Sometimes you can't even judge the choice because you didn't try the substitute and in many times I have discovered that decisions that I regarded them as one the worst decision I ever took indeed one of the best!

        Life is a book we read. It is almost full but there are small number of empty spaces. you choose what you want to write in them.  Don't be responsible for things you didn't write they are not here to rate your performance, but rather to make the story more interesting! And always remember, watch out for your pen, do your best and don't worry.

A New Life

   "Free you are!" my mother said in the last day of high school exams in the middle of a long conversation. I couldn't define the nature of the statement, the words are simple but the tone was so weird. I thought may be I was just worried and taking everything seriously before the exam. I tried to continue, but I am close enough to my mother to know she was serious. My mother was looking straight into my eyes, staring with wonder, but I couldn't see hers, that black glasses!
 
   You would probably wonder why I didn't ask her, but believe me it was hard, somethings are supposed to be understood without talking especially in close relationships. She pointed out more freedom in future but questions flowed in the opposite direction. Did she mean I have been handcuffed from the stupid education system? or did she feel young age has someway restrained my passions or limited my thoughts? And if so, was I conned in the past 14 years of education thinking I am free?

   I took some moments re-evaluating my life. I tried to call the first day in kindergarten, but telepathy was faster. My mother continued, "Remember kindergarten, you hated to go and mostly you used kindergarten for sleeping and eating and you did all the work in home!", yea right! I really love how I was independent since the earliest memory, but I was still trying to get her point. She proceeded "and in the first day, I came with you and I kept explaining how you would begin a new phase in your life, and here I come with you again...in its end", and she gave a modest smile.

   Obviously, she didn't aim to tell me I finished high school, but she wanted me to define the next phase myself. It seems this relates to the freedom thing. My mother stopped talking and left me some space for the usual day dreaming. I moved the tape forward and I remembered how I had the chance to decide doing extracurricular activities although it would affect my school scores. It was not a decision of an act it was rather the action plan of a life style, to do whatever I think is suitable. I think I had the chance to choose and I think choice has succeeded in making me alive . Then should I expect a new level of independence and freedom?

   I began to think in  a different way, my mother didn't mean "freedom" may be she meant something close...something accompanied to freedom like joy for instance. I retook a look into my mums face, I realized she wanted me to start planning and alert me for more "responsibility" in the next period of my life. My curious mind couldn't stop forming a picture in the future, a picture of the challenges, my feelings and my new adaptations, but however the picture will be, I am waiting.......with bated breath.