Streak...

Streak...

I don't know how many of you can feel me, but there is something I need to express to my Code-Mates...

I have never been consistent in my life. Never. Since my school days, I always used to plan for something and follow it for no longer than two days. It felt like the universe was conspiring against me. Maybe I was just consistent in one thing — Laziness. I procrastinated on everything, even the things I enjoyed.

Due to this, I failed numerous times. I took motivation from my parents and some friends, got back up, and then failed again. It felt like a non — ending cycle that I couldn't escape.

Even in my competitive journey, if you just look at my profile, you'll see that I joined Codeforces in July. I did it well for two weeks, and then I got some reasons to take a break for two days. And it took me the next three months to realize that I have never been consistent in anything. (Before Codeforces, I spent nearly a year on CC with the same story.)

And then one day, I promised myself to test my limits. I decided to solve at least one problem per day. In the beginning, I found it hard to stick to this, but later on, it became a part of my habit. After just 20 days of my streak, my college's end-term exams came up, and as an engineer, I had to study one subject in one night. I spent a whole week with a total of 10 hours of sleep in those days. Still, I kept doing Codeforces no matter what. There were some days when I was bedridden due to fever, some days when I had to travel 500+km urgently, and some days when I had an extreme level of headache. Still, I kept continuing my streak.

When I couldn't solve a problem, I studied solutions from other people and then used their methods to solve a problem but never stopped. I had completed a 197-day streak, and today was the 198th day of my streak.

When I saw that Codeforces was down today, I felt insecure about my streak. From afternoon till now, my friend @summer_2 and I kept refreshing the website. During these few hours, I saw my whole journey till today. Is this the end? So this is how it ends? Of course not, but I was thinking these things at that time. Because when I was getting rejected everywhere, when I was doing bad at everything, it was my streak that kept me pushing, kept me giving hope, and maybe that streak is the proof of my consistency. Whenever I see my streak, it tells me that it's not enough. I can do more. I can do more.

Some people might say that the streak is not important, that we don't do Codeforces for streaks. And I don't disagree with them. But for me, it's different. My streak is a symbol of my growth, my dedication, and my perseverance. It's a reminder that I can overcome my laziness and achieve greatness. It's a reminder that no matter how many times I fail, I can always get back up and try again.

btw, Thanks @Headquarters && @Codeforces developer's Team for bringing my streak back to life!