The North Carolina Chapter: Monk Mode, Game Dev, and Growing Up

When I was 16, my father (a university professor) went on sabbatical, and the whole family moved to North Carolina for a year.

If you had told my younger self that I was moving to a different country for a year, I would have been terrified.

But honestly? I was super excited. I was tired of being the lazy kid reading webcomics in the back of the class. I needed a fresh start.

I entered my "Overly Engineered Productivity" phase. Think Ali Abdaal, complex Notion systems, habit trackers, gratitude journals, all that stuff. Looking back, a lot of it was unnecessary overhead, but it set the stage for what was coming.

The Routine

The first few days of school were rough. I knew nobody. I was staring down a mountain of AP classes and felt a little sad. I was worried I wouldn't have time for my personal projects. And I barely had a bed. 😭

But after the first week, I swapped a theoretical class for a math class, and I settled into a rhythm.

I didn't have a social life. I didn't hang out with people after school. And that turned out to be my biggest advantage.

Every day I only did three things: School, family time, Grind.

The Builder Arc

I started learning how to type properly. Then programming. Then web development.

Then I tackled the big one: Game Development.

I bought a Mac (my first one ever) after my old laptop died, and I went to work. To this day, my Mac is still my main weapon of choice.

• I learned Blender.
• I coded my first game (a simple ball-rolling game).
• I edited and published my first YouTube video.

I was terrified to hit publish. I didn't even share it with anyone. For the first few videos, I got zero views. But I kept going.

By video #4, the algorithm picked me up.

By video #8, I hit 100 subscribers.

I spent the year balancing AP exams (got 5s on all of them, of course), family trips to Disney and Universal, and the personal grind.

The Lessons

1. Solitude is a Feature, Not a Bug

I didn't make any "real" friends in North Carolina. We talked in class, but we didn't hang out. In fact, I barely text the people I used to know in NC. At the time, it felt a little lonely. In hindsight, it was necessary. If you want to learn, grind, and go all-in on a new skill, not having a social life for a season is a superpower. It gives you the silence you need to focus.

2. Pain Tolerance & Delaying Gratification

This was the first time in my life I ever focused on a single project for months without getting paid a dollar. I made 10 YouTube videos and coded games for 4 months straight before seeing any real traction. That year taught me that I can outlast the boredom.

3. The World is Small

I was surprised by how similar the US was to Canada. The students played the same games (Clash Royale, Valorant, etc). The culture was 90% the same. It made me realize that "Western Civilization" is pretty standardized. You can go anywhere and find your footing.

4. You vs. You

By the end of the trip, I felt a new sense of agency. I realized that if I put my mind to something, I could actually get results. I also realized that most people are lazy. It is not that hard to beat the competition, because most people aren't even trying. You are really just competing against yourself.

Conclusion

On the last day of the trip, I ennoyed time with family and read Unordinary, the same webcomic I used to read during my lazy period. But it felt different. I wasn't reading it to escape anymore. I was reading it as a reward for the most productive year of my life.

I came to North Carolina with big dreams and aspirations and I did my best to learn as much as possible.

I'm proud of my growth during this season of my life, it definitely got me closer to my goals.