“Do you want the long story or short story?” is how I would usually respond.
This is the usual response I give to people when they ask me about what I am interested in or what I do in my free time. At any given moment, I am always prepared to spend the next 15 to 30 minutes explaining to you why I enjoy doing the things I do, and not because I just like the sound of my voice (okay, maybe on rare occasions) but rather I enjoy this more unique way of arranging my life story. I am particularly invested in bringing my imagination to reality through my hobbies so if I can also deliver that same feeling of excitement to you by telling you an engaging story that started out as mere a thought in my mind, I will have succeeded! With that being said, collecting and building Legos, flying remote-controlled airplanes, and weightlifting are the three main hobbies that I have been and currently are involved in. Rather than following the conventional chronological order in which new hobbies gradually replace the old, I am constantly adding things to my existing interest portfolio. Variety is the spice of life!
Since I was 3, Legos have played a pivotal role in my life, particularly when it comes to developing my creativity and adaptability. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been building with Lego to expand my horizons. Everything from Star Wars starfighters to functional home decorations, I am constantly thinking of ways to include these small, but mighty plastic bricks in my day-to-day life. With such a large catalog of parts available at my disposal, I am often able to immediately throw together a prototype of something I want to create or even a substitute for something I want. Currently, my own creations (colloquially known as MOCs) are at the forefront of my building technique development. Sometimes I might just be watching a show or movie and suddenly spot an object, like a WWII aircraft or a specific scene, like a Clone Wars battle and think of ways to convey the idea with the bricks I have at my disposal. While I might not own every piece needed to construct such a creation or want to buy “build-specific” pieces, adaptations are the name of the game when it comes to completing a project with what I have. Perfect execution is often not the ideal method when it comes to approaching any engineering problem. We can only strive to achieve perfection, never quite reaching it. As Legos paved the solid foundation for an interest in hands-on engineering mindset fundamentals, something new around the block would eventually join the battle as well.
It’s going to be a one-circle fight! Better pull a reversal! Too late to bail out! Piloting remote-controlled airplanes is a hobby that stemmed from the more technical side of my abilities that Legos began to develop. Despite never being naturally interested in the theoretical universe of physics theory, I’m all about experiencing the hands-on components of flight dynamics. During my flights, I’m constantly thinking of ways to improve my precision in stunt maneuvers, aircraft handling, or trying new ways to get out of the line of fire of my dad’s aircraft. With the rise of virtual reality in the mid-2010s, my dad’s life-long interest in fixed-wing aviation and my growing interest in racing drones combined to form what is now known as FPV (first-person-view) flying. More often than not, I feel like I’m a part of the aircraft, so locked in and in tune with my plane that the rest of the world just falls away as I slowly pull my dad’s plane into my sights. Then, in a blink of an eye, he gets behind me and I sink into my seat. It’s moments like this where I am truly grateful that my dad continually encouraged and motivated me to pioneer this niche within the RC airplane hobby with him. Trying to share this feeling of fun with everyone around us hasn’t been easy, but we are managing to grow this community of FPV airplane enthusiasts every day by selling an easy-to-install system. It has become our business and at this point, it would be unfair of me to call it just a hobby, but rather a life-long interest in aviation and air combat history.
In a similar pursuit for greatness, weightlifting is a more recent interest of mine, beyond just being about exercise and personal health. Since it involves technique, discipline, and constant scientific experimentation just like piloting an FPV aircraft, weightlifting has been and still is a great way for me to grow physically. While it can often be viewed through the lens of merely trying to improve physique, I find that having more confidence in oneself can permeate across all aspects in life. While Legos and flying airplanes offer great mental awareness and training, weightlifting further improves and refines the self. In conjunction to this, holistic medicine is an area of study I’ve personally taken a keen interest in, as it ties in a lot of data-based analysis and anecdotal experience. Recovery, ideal rep count, and emphasis on technique are all areas that I have dabbled in, constantly observing others to improve my own understanding of bio-mechanics. I often find myself learning from others in the gym just as I learned from my dad by watching his flights, so this familiar yet slightly unique parallel is what makes experiencing the growth cycle so exciting for me every time. Reminds me of when I first started out!
With all of this said and done, I have always been and always will be a person that is constantly learning and never stopping in growth. This is only a part of the story for now, a snapshot of who I am. So what you might be wondering is, “why should I care about all of this?” The answer is, now you know if you ever ask me that question above, this presentation is probably what I would give you.