So... I Got Adopted?

I always knew I wanted to study Computer Science.

Even before my O/Ls, I had already made up my mind that this was the path I wanted to take. So when I finally got into the Computer Science degree at KDU, I was incredibly excited.

I was also a little terrified.

I’ve always been an introvert. The idea of walking into university, meeting completely new people, and somehow finding my place among them was honestly intimidating. I expected the whole “make new friends and adjust to university life” thing to be difficult.

Turns out, I was worrying for nothing.

Finding My First Friend

During our first year, three different degrees were studying together, so there were a lot of new faces everywhere. We were all still trying to figure out who everyone was, where we belonged, and what was going on.

The Computer Science crowd was probably the most chaotic, but also the chillest, in my opinion.

The first person I really became friends with was another girl from our batch. We stuck together and pretty much did everything together. Classes, assignments, wandering around campus, the usual.

And then there was this group of five guys.

They sat in the front row. Almost always the row directly in front of us.

They were constantly making jokes, telling completely absurd stories, and occasionally making jokes they probably shouldn't have been making in a lecture hall.

There was also one particular guy who seemed to be the group's favourite target for playful bullying.

We didn't even know them that well at first, but we couldn't help laughing whenever we overheard their conversations.

Eventually, we started talking.

And somehow, we went from “those five weird guys in the front” to actually knowing each other.

Then I discovered that some of them were gamers.

That was basically the moment they became significantly more interesting to me.

Whenever we had free time between lectures, we'd sometimes end up playing games in lecture halls instead of doing anything remotely productive.

Looking back, that was probably the beginning.

Somehow, I Became One of Them

By second year, things had changed quite a bit.

The two of us girls had somehow become the two girls who regularly hung out with this group of five guys.

And because I'd spent enough time with them by then, I started figuring out everyone's quirks.

There was the one who was always thinking outside the box. His brain sometimes seemed to work faster than his mouth, so when he started explaining one of his ideas, you had to be patient and really listen.

There was the security guy.

And when I say security guy, I mean the kind of person who genuinely seems like he could disappear for three days and come back having found something nobody else was supposed to find.

Then there was the one who was convinced he had an unlimited supply of wisdom.

He also had a special talent for procrastinating until the very last possible moment.

Somehow, though, he always got the work done.

And not just done.

He would somehow finish it in a way that made you question why you were stressing in the first place.

Then there was the one who somehow managed to live and stress at the same time.

He was ridiculously good at maths, though, so even the bullying came with a little respect.

And finally, there was that guy.

The one who genuinely believes he is the funniest person alive.

The unfortunate part is that he actually is funny.

Don't tell him that.

Once he starts talking, you are basically trapped. He can argue about absolutely anything, somehow confuse you completely, and by the end of the conversation, you'll find yourself agreeing with him even when you have no idea how you got there.

I suppose that's what debating does to a person.

And, as it turns out, he would become a pretty important part of my story too.

So... I Applied?

At some point, I found out that these guys were actually starting something of their own.

They weren't just talking about some random project they might do someday.

They were actually building something.

And I remember asking them a very simple question:

"Are you guys recruiting members?"

Somehow, the answer was yes.

Even more somehow, they told me to apply.

So I did.

And then came the interview.

Which was slightly difficult to take seriously because, well...

I already knew the interviewers personally.

Trying not to laugh while being interviewed by people whose nonsense I'd been listening to for the past year was not the easiest thing in the world.

But apparently, I passed.

I joined the project team.

At the time, I had no idea that this would eventually lead to me becoming part of the actual startup these guys were building.

But here I am.

Maybe I Was Adopted

I never expected university to be where I'd find people I'd end up building something with.

Especially not when I started university worrying about whether I'd even be able to make friends.

Somehow, I ended up meeting this group almost by accident.

I started as the quiet girl sitting behind a bunch of loud guys telling ridiculous stories.

Then I became one of the people listening to those stories.

Then one of the people joining in.

And somewhere along the way, I became part of the team.

Looking back, it feels a little like fate.

Or maybe I just got adopted.

Either way, I'm glad it happened.

And there's one more part of that story that makes it even better.

That jokester I mentioned earlier?

He ended up becoming my partner.

Having someone by my side who already knew me, understood the whole chaotic group dynamic, and made sure I never felt like an outsider made joining this team feel much more natural.

So I suppose I didn't just find a team.

I found my people.

Where We Go From Here

As for me, I like solving problems.

I like building things.

And I like writing about the things I build, especially when the process gets interesting enough to become a story of its own.

I don't really know where this journey with ClapTac will take us.

Maybe that's the exciting part.

We've already gone from being a bunch of students sitting in lecture halls, to building projects together, to becoming a team, and now to building something we can actually call our own.

I have a feeling this is only the beginning.

And honestly?

I'm very much up for it.