April 17th, 2023

一开始决定参加HackDartmouth其实是抱着纯属体验来玩的心态的，所以过程中压根没有去看奖项，对奖项一点也不了解

昨天被拿到的三个奖都是有相对应的物品的，以至于直到晚上确认奖项之前我都以为奖品仅仅就是我手上拿到的东西

事实证明，我错了，毕竟谁会去看奖品的Description啊！这实际上真的是一个Founder Starter Kit，包括直接承诺的credits（我可真太需要这个了，值回路费）和portfolio等等

负责人这周就会联系过来兑现并处理下一步的事情

这场活动大部分参加的人都是来自波士顿和纽约附近地区的，包括但不限于来自哥大、NYU、BU、BC、Colgate等大U和文理学院的学生，当然也有达特茅斯本校的学生（我这次在的队伍里就有达特茅斯的Junior）

实际的Hackathon过程其实并没有表面上说的那么平淡，在我的视角里实际上发生了不少的事情：

1. 有人错拿了我的行李箱，来来回回找以至于工作人员因为这个都认得我了

2. 由于自己是全校唯一来参加的，坐车两小时到芝加哥坐飞机到波士顿再到达特茅斯，前后各住了一晚上再回来，每次我跟别人说的时候别人都很惊奇

（当然，这一趟的奖品直接值回机票+住宿钱，甚至还超了不少，更别提那些无法用数字衡量的价值了）

3. 在我一开始差点决定要solo hack（一个人做项目）之前，其实有一个男生跟我聊了项目的注意，因为他更希望做AR/VR，由于我们都没有办法妥协于是就没有组成队。颁奖之后他特意来找了我，再一次问并且听了我描述我的项目idea

4. 台下队伍被恭喜的时候可能因为戴帽子看起来太像工作人员，握手闲谈的时候没有被注意到，结果人家转身准备的时候队友上前戳了人家提醒道：“我们还有一个队友呢”

5. 虽然这是我的第一个Hackathon，但是队友们都是参加了不少次（有第6次的），除了提供Idea和实现部分功能的时候，其实大部分都是从队友那里听说过去的东西以及学习到了经验。即便如此，Demo的过程中每次介绍，队友都会特别提出这是来自我的inspiration（以及我正在写书的事情）

甚至，我的名字也直接出现在了Project Description的灵感来源上

6. 哎呀哎呀果然还是没有爆照的习惯，还是给自己打个码好了

（有的时候真觉得自己活在小说里）

……

其实创业的想法今年年初就有了，只是一直在沉淀以及原计划暑假的时候再开展项目（这个学期20学分+写书+同时进展的科研项目+其他琐碎的事情真的有点开始顶不住了）

创业刚开始肯定是麻烦且困难的，包括启动资金，人脉上的联系等等，在Honor college的research fair上页也联系到了初创投资项目的负责人，只是一直迫于时间的原因没法详细规划和开展，这一次的founder starter kit是一个意料之外很好的开始和booster

奖品的书我在回来飞机上看了，虽然没有仔细看详细的内容，但单是大致框架和流程就已经给我打开了新世界的大门

书中还有对一些成功创业的人的采访，这其中还有一些不陌生的名字

……

真的是，有的时候明明已经累得想躺平了，却又不知道哪里来的信念和机遇又让自己忙起来了

╮(￣▽￣)╭

At first, I decided to participate in HackDartmouth just for the experience, so I didn't pay much attention to the prizes and had no idea about them.

The three awards I received yesterday all came with corresponding items, so much so that I thought the prizes were just the things I received in my hands until I confirmed the awards last night.

It turned out I was wrong. After all, who would read the description of the prizes? This was actually a Founder Starter Kit, including promised credits (which I really needed, making the trip worthwhile) and a portfolio, among other things.

The person in charge will contact me this week to fulfill the prizes and handle the next steps.

Most participants in this event were from the Boston and New York areas, including but not limited to students from Columbia, NYU, BU, BC, Colgate, and other large universities and liberal arts colleges, as well as Dartmouth students (I had a Dartmouth junior on my team).

The actual Hackathon process wasn't as uneventful as it seemed. From my perspective, a lot happened:

1. Someone mistakenly took my suitcase, and I had to look for it so much that the staff recognized me because of it.

2. Since I was the only one from my school participating, I took a two-hour bus ride to Chicago, then flew to Boston and finally to Dartmouth, staying overnight before and after. People were always surprised when I told them about my journey.

  (Of course, the prizes directly covered the cost of flights and accommodations, and even exceeded them by a lot, not to mention the invaluable experiences I gained.)

3. Before I almost decided to solo hack (working on a project alone), a guy talked to me about his project idea, but he wanted to do AR/VR. Since we couldn't compromise, we didn't form a team. After the awards, he came to find me again, asking about and listening to my project idea.

4. When the teams were being congratulated, I might have been mistaken for a staff member because I was wearing a hat, so I was overlooked during handshakes and small talk. When the person turned around to prepare, my teammate reminded them, "We have one more teammate here."

5. Although this was my first Hackathon, my teammates had participated in many (one had been to six), so most of the time, I learned from their experiences and stories. Even so, during the demo, my teammates always mentioned that the inspiration came from me (and that I was writing a book). In fact, my name appeared directly as the source of inspiration in the project description.

6. Oh, I still don't have the habit of posting selfies, so I'll blur myself out.

(Sometimes, I feel like I'm living in a novel.)

...

Actually, I've been considering starting a business since the beginning of this year, but I've been waiting and originally planned to start the project during the summer break (this semester's 20 credits, writing a book, ongoing research projects, and other miscellaneous tasks are becoming overwhelming).

Starting a business is undoubtedly troublesome and difficult, including startup funds, networking, etc. At the Honor College's research fair, I also connected with the person in charge of an early-stage investment project, but I couldn't plan and execute it in detail due to time constraints. This Founder Starter Kit is an unexpected and excellent beginning and booster.

I read the prize book on the plane back, and although I didn't read the detailed content, the general framework and process opened the doors to a new world for me. The book also includes interviews with some successful entrepreneurs, some of whom have familiar names.

...

It's true that sometimes, just when I'm tired and want to give up, an unknown source of faith and opportunity gets me busy again.

╮(￣▽￣)╭