HSUAN is a frontend developer from Taipei, Taiwan, who believes that the combination of programming and design can achieve a lot. In the future, I want to become a maker, but I'm still not sure what to make.

I majored in 3D Animation, Shih Chien University the Department of Communications. One semester, I happened to audit a programming class with my then-girlfriend and found it interesting. I continued for a whole semester and discovered that sometimes I could enter a state of flow while coding. I also noticed that most classmates weren't good at it, so I secretly checked the job market—after all, school is often a microcosm of the market. I felt it was a field worth pursuing, so after graduation, I became a software developer with an animation background (?).

As graduation approached, I thought about going to graduate school around the age of 30, hoping to combine design and engineering. But I always felt I lacked solid development skills, so I worked part-time while improving my coding skills and even attended computer science classes. I spent the next five years diving into software development, learning about modern browsers, databases, market logic, and e-commerce operations. This period greatly influenced my way of thinking. Besides experience, I learned the importance of breaking down problems—when facing big challenges in life, I now break them into smaller ones and solve them one by one. Of course, there are other reasons for choosing this intersectional field: the ceiling is high, and you can work regardless of language or location. If the market needs it and I can do it, why not?

After graduation, I spent a long time backpacking in India and Southeast Asia, chatting with many travelers and then parting ways. I had no money at the time, but I had the world, my mouth, my feet, and a Decathlon sleeping bag (?), enough to go anywhere. After many conversations, I realized that time is relative—we enjoy everything in it but possess nothing. Time is also a kind of energy; if you don't try to grasp it, all kinds of energy can flow in and fill you, even though the body is borrowed. I've never felt like someone who lives in a rush or blindly. I plan for the big picture but like to keep the details unknown and flexible. This makes me curious about many things, and I enjoy the process, especially slowly polishing and focusing on things I can immerse myself in.

I divide my daily life into three parts—logical thinking, creation, and physical training. In my spare time, I still love to draw—cards, illustrations, comics, and portraits for friends I meet while traveling, using what I know to bless them. I also enjoy playing the piano, whether it's figuring out chords or playing pop songs, I always enjoy it. My favorite is still manga, which is a compendium of all knowledge in this era and can cover all kinds of topics. Whenever I'm happy, sad, or just neutral, I read manga and feel happy. I also love writing; sharing knowledge is joyful—what I receive from the public, I give back to the public. Most of my articles now are about professional knowledge, but I used to write about anything that came to mind. After all, knowledge needs to be input and output to last. I also love working out; physical training strengthens the mind, just like Netero's daily ten thousand gratitude punches—focus and constant training eventually build a strong mind. On weekends, I work as a coach, leading students and friends in fitness.

Energy is fluid. While enjoying it, there will also be times of exchange. 'Equivalent exchange' is the core concept of Fullmetal Alchemist and also my principle. When you enjoy something, you are destined to lose something, or if you transcend the concept of gain and loss, you are always exchanging. Sometimes it's money, sometimes time, sometimes life, and sometimes things I can't even imagine yet, but in the future, I'll know what I exchanged.

The biggest difference between my 20s and 30s is thinking about what else I can do, not just what I have to do. I love the field of interaction, but before that, I need to learn the knowledge and skills I think are necessary. I may not always have money (but I know how to earn it), but I know how I want to live my life. The future still has a big direction, and I hope to become a maker, but the details can only be discovered on the road—just like traveling alone, you know the destination, but you never know who you'll meet, where you'll go together, or what you'll do. You enjoy but do not possess.