About three and a half months ago, I laid awake in the wee hours of the morning, trying desperately to calm my mind so that I could fall asleep. I got up, switched on my desk lamp, opened my journal, and started to write. I wrote about how unsure, how excited, how frightful I was about this upcoming semester.

And here I sit, preparing to go to bed before the last day of the same semester. A lot has happened in these short three months, and at the same time, not much has changed. There's the weirdest feeling during these moments: it's the same feeling you get when you realize that you've arrived back at your doorstep after a long day of hiking. You don't know what got you there, you simply just did it.

Whereas I was filled with the jitters during those first days of classes, I now feel a sense of serenity as I head into these final days of the semester. I am glad for the experiences that I've had, and grateful for the knowledge that I've had a chance to learn.

Moreover, the only thing that separates the Brian that was lying awake on that August night, and myself during this moment of writing, is three months of hard work, and patience. It's true what they say: there is nothing special about success, it's really just hard work in disguise.

Thinking back on the semester, some of my favorite moments were those epiphanies I had when I solved a difficult problem correctly, or when I finally saw the meaning behind a particular concept. To me, these moments are phenomenal; it's like a film has been lifted from over your eyes, and you see the world in brighter, sharper colors. It's not just engineers: artists, writers, anyone really, can strive to find these special moments, when you expand your perspective of the world just a little bit more.

In a typical school semester, I would have spent a lot more time connecting with my friends and classmates. But this time around, I spent a lot of time connecting with myself and my family members around me. That's one thing I'm truly grateful for; this pandemic has allowed me to spend really quality time with my family. Honestly, it's probably the first time in my life that I've truly appreciated being around them.

So when everything's said and done, I have to say that I am grateful for what this semester has brought me. Some things have stayed the same, and some things have changed. This semester is just one small fragment of my story, and I am glad you guys came along this journey with me, as we witnessed the peaks and valleys of life. Next semester, I hope to make yet another dive into the unknown, as I prepare to set live on campus as a college freshman. While the future is largely uncertain, I am certain of but one thing: life goes on.