Unorthodox. Defined as being “contrary to the usual, traditional, or accepted; not orthodox.”
Happy. Defined as “feelings or showing pleasure or contentment.”
These two adjectives (both of which are coincidentally in his Instagram username) seem to be the only two descriptors I could think of when asked to describe Ryan Jin.
Most people choose to dedicate themselves to one cause or one subject that they are particularly fond of or passionate about. For some, it may be a sport. For others, it could be a hobby or extracurriculars. Yet with some superhuman power— or perhaps even magic— Ryan is able to devote himself to mastering and perfecting multiple skills while encouraging and helping his peers. In short: Ryan Jin has his life together. How do we become more like Ryan (or at least try to get our life together)? I recently had the chance to interview this talented individual to gain a deeper understanding of how he manages to stay organized amid the chaos of his busy everyday life.
Although admitting that sophomore year is definitely more “intense” compared to freshman year, Ryan is optimistic and ready to tackle whatever is hurled his way. Not only is Ryan successful academically, but he is also the president of the Computer Science Club and a varsity volleyball player. When asked about how he manages to juggle his extracurriculars with school, he replied simply with, “I try to time-manage myself well.” He follows what is known as the Pomodoro Technique, which is to focus on a given task for 25 minutes and then take a five-minute break. “This technique helps me pace my homework time and ensure that I don't get burnt out too fast.” Ryan also stresses the importance of being able to self-motivate. Or in his exact words, “We need intrinsic motivation to achieve greatness.” He does this by “exploiting” our brain’s natural reward system in order to accomplish work that he may find “strenuous” or tedious to do.
Ryan is also a firm believer of breaking seemingly big and difficult goals into “small and more manageable chunks.” By doing so, one can “complete the task easily without any ambiguity” and with less difficulty.
As a varsity volleyball player, Ryan has also adopted two key mindsets he has learned during his time on the team. One is the concept of "No BCD" where “B” stands for blame, “C” stands for complain, and “D” stands for defending. When met with an obstacle, it's often people's instinct to complain, assign blames, and become defensive about it. “It creates this negative atmosphere into it that makes it hard to move forward. And this also applies to life.” The other is the concept of “E+R=O” where “E” stands for an event, “R” stands for the response, and “O” stands for the outcome. The event that occurs is not in anyone’s control. Or in other words, “shit happens.” However, one does have control of the response and the final outcome. “For example, an event is [that] we lost China Cup. It really sucks. The outcome coming from the event is that we want to be prepared, we want to have the skills and the mentality to fight in APAC,” he explained with a small smile, “our response would then to be to train harder, to be focused, and to be more disciplined when we commit to our training.”
A piece of advice Ryan has for all of his peers is to “find the balance and your own source of motivation to achieve great success,” adopt the mindset of constantly wanting to become the better version of yourself, and to “love and see value in what you are doing.”
Perhaps after reading about Ryan Jin’s secrets to success, we can all get our own lives together.
Annica Wang
Happy. Defined as “feelings or showing pleasure or contentment.”
These two adjectives (both of which are coincidentally in his Instagram username) seem to be the only two descriptors I could think of when asked to describe Ryan Jin.
Most people choose to dedicate themselves to one cause or one subject that they are particularly fond of or passionate about. For some, it may be a sport. For others, it could be a hobby or extracurriculars. Yet with some superhuman power— or perhaps even magic— Ryan is able to devote himself to mastering and perfecting multiple skills while encouraging and helping his peers. In short: Ryan Jin has his life together. How do we become more like Ryan (or at least try to get our life together)? I recently had the chance to interview this talented individual to gain a deeper understanding of how he manages to stay organized amid the chaos of his busy everyday life.
 |
| Photo courtesy of Ryan Jin |
Although admitting that sophomore year is definitely more “intense” compared to freshman year, Ryan is optimistic and ready to tackle whatever is hurled his way. Not only is Ryan successful academically, but he is also the president of the Computer Science Club and a varsity volleyball player. When asked about how he manages to juggle his extracurriculars with school, he replied simply with, “I try to time-manage myself well.” He follows what is known as the Pomodoro Technique, which is to focus on a given task for 25 minutes and then take a five-minute break. “This technique helps me pace my homework time and ensure that I don't get burnt out too fast.” Ryan also stresses the importance of being able to self-motivate. Or in his exact words, “We need intrinsic motivation to achieve greatness.” He does this by “exploiting” our brain’s natural reward system in order to accomplish work that he may find “strenuous” or tedious to do.
 |
| Photo courtesy of Ryan Jin |
Ryan is also a firm believer of breaking seemingly big and difficult goals into “small and more manageable chunks.” By doing so, one can “complete the task easily without any ambiguity” and with less difficulty.
As a varsity volleyball player, Ryan has also adopted two key mindsets he has learned during his time on the team. One is the concept of "No BCD" where “B” stands for blame, “C” stands for complain, and “D” stands for defending. When met with an obstacle, it's often people's instinct to complain, assign blames, and become defensive about it. “It creates this negative atmosphere into it that makes it hard to move forward. And this also applies to life.” The other is the concept of “E+R=O” where “E” stands for an event, “R” stands for the response, and “O” stands for the outcome. The event that occurs is not in anyone’s control. Or in other words, “shit happens.” However, one does have control of the response and the final outcome. “For example, an event is [that] we lost China Cup. It really sucks. The outcome coming from the event is that we want to be prepared, we want to have the skills and the mentality to fight in APAC,” he explained with a small smile, “our response would then to be to train harder, to be focused, and to be more disciplined when we commit to our training.”
 |
| Photo courtesy of Ryan Jin |
A piece of advice Ryan has for all of his peers is to “find the balance and your own source of motivation to achieve great success,” adopt the mindset of constantly wanting to become the better version of yourself, and to “love and see value in what you are doing.”
Perhaps after reading about Ryan Jin’s secrets to success, we can all get our own lives together.
Annica Wang
