But Why?
My journey and its impact on you
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back
- Road not Taken by Robert FrostElucidate was created with the intent to teach people competitive coding simply, in short articles. So it makes sense that before anything, I should perhaps introduce myself, and motivate you to keep going. After all, competitive coding is not an easy journey!
Why CP?
You might ask, why take up competitive programming, or CP as it is more commonly called? In fact, why even bother? Why not code, well, anything else? I have asked myself the exact same question many times.
Sometimes, its easy to feel overwhelmed by the difficulty of the task ahead. To me there have been times it has felt too abstract, too academic, too difficult, but sometimes it has felt inspiring, satisfying, that beautiful feeling you get when you solve a problem is one I will never forget!
How to keep going?
I think anyone can be a competitive coder, but it definitely isn’t for everyone. If you truly set your mind to it, you’ll overcome all the obstacles in your way.
It’s a good idea to have a motivation in your head. There are several reasons to consider this beautiful field. Maybe you want to improve your problem solving skills? Earn a medal to add to your portfolio? Or maybe you just like coding and want to make yourself better in it by exploring algorithmic problems from a new dimension?
For me, it was a combination of reasons. I still remember my first NOI, with no knowledge of algorithms, having barely learnt C++ a few weeks ago. I remember sitting in front of the screen, filled with a despair I cannot describe in words, as the timer ran out and I had solved not a single problem. That sinking feeling is stuck in my mind, and it came back the next year when I failed to clear any problem in the final contest in 2023. But most importantly, I remember thinking to myself, “this is one peak I haven’t conquered yet, and I promise I’ll scale it someday”.
Sure enough, the silver medal was mine in NOI 2024 :)
If it’s none of the above, that’s perfectly alright, competitive coding isn’t for everyone, and you shouldn’t force yourself. Nothing good will come from it.
Why Elucidate?
Elucidate was started for this reason. I remember the difficulty I had when I started my CP journey. So many places to get information across the internet, where do I even begin? Is this in syllabus? Am I practicing correctly? What should I do first, what next? The list of questions is endless…
The aim of Elucidate is simple. I don’t want future competitive coders to experience the same difficulty. Plus, to ensure that my years of experience don’t simply go to waste, I want this to be a way to keep my knowledge going long into the future.
So keep reading, and hopefully this will be a useful platform for all aspiring competitive coders!
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main() {
cout << "Hello, World!" << endl;
return 0;
}Thanks so much for reading! Consider subscribing, it’s free and you’ll never miss a new article!