Rowing, DECA, and other things :)
November Newsletter
Hi! If you’re new here, I’m Alexander and welcome to my newsletter! I’m a 15-year-old interested in AI, Blockchain and tech in general!
In my monthly newsletter, I share some updates of what I’ve been up to, as well as my key takeaways from my learning journey! Subscribe for more takeaways, reflections, and new progress on my projects and learning!
So many things happened in November, check out what I have done!👇
This month, I started rowing, tried to qualify for DECA provincials, and did a lot of other things. It was sort of like a checkpoint, a bunch of moments that forced me to see where I’m actually at: in school, in rowing, in competitions, and in my writing. Some things went well, some didn’t, but every single thing pushed me forward. I’ve been relatively late with this newsxletter publication because of a lot of projects and initiatives. I promise December has a lot more exciting things 👀.
Rowing - The Winter Grind
This month, rowing finally kicked into full gear, and winter training was pretty hard. There isn’t any scenery or races, just the erg and your numbers. Most workouts were long, steady pieces and early attempts at sharpening for the winter. It’s not glamorous, and honestly, some days were rough. I recently had my first 3 x 10’ and held an average of 2:03.1.
Practices are getting more rough and I am noticing we’re training more for speed now instead of long steady state pieces. In rowing, we are separated into 3 groups (Group 1, Group 2, Group 3) based on age at the start of the year but change over time based on performance. Luckily, I managed to stay in Group 2 so far and I hope to get a sub 7:30 2k by the end of the school year.
Articles
Throughout November, I spent a significant amount of time writing, both for competitions and for publication. I worked on a Scholastic Art & Writing submission, building off my Martha Cooper article that I originally wrote in Grade 9, and refining it with a stronger narrative focus and clearer analysis.
At the same time, I wrote three articles for my school newspaper, Convergence, all of which are set to be published by the end of December. These pieces highlight different clubs at the school and outline their goals and plans for the upcoming year, pushing me to write clearly for a broad audience rather than a specific rubric.
Writing multiple articles at once also taught me how reusable strong ideas can be. A well-developed piece doesn’t have to exist in only one place. Once it’s written, it can be adapted and refined for different publications and competitions. This mindset has made my writing process far more efficient and intentional.
Other things
Some other things I got done/achieved this month was my personal website. Over the span of a week, I used Squarespace to create a hub where you can see all about me from my projects and videos. You can check it out at alexanderzhang.ca. Creating a website is surprisingly expensive because you have to pay for the website building site to continue editing it after it’s publication but you also have to pay for a domain name (website site name) for it to list on Google. In the end, I ended up paying around $21 per month for the website builder along with $200 for the domain for it to maintain for 3 years.
I also took a lot of exams this month particularly the DECA entrepreneurship exam and the PSAT. Both these exams were preparation for the SAT. Rather than viewing these as high-stakes moments, I treated them as preparation and diagnostics for future standardized testing, including the SAT.
Neither exam felt difficult but the value came from understanding where I currently stand. They gave me a clearer sense of my test-taking habits, time management, and business knowledge, helping me identify what needs improvement long before the stakes are higher.