Author: Yehyun Lee, Email: leey93@unlv.nevada.edu
Date Last Modified: 02/23/2025

On Saturday, I went skiing at Lee Canyon. Since my last time skiing was in elementary school, I felt like a newborn deer—wobbly and unbalanced. Even the shortest course took me 20 minutes, and I struggled to get back up every time I fell. But I didn’t want to stay on the easy slopes, so I challenged myself with a higher course. At first, I kept falling, but as I practiced, my confidence and skills grew. On my first run, I fell 15 times, but by the end of the day, I could complete a much longer course in just 15 minutes with only one fall!

I realized that if I had let my fear hold me back and stayed on the easy slopes, I wouldn’t have progressed as quickly as I did. This experience reminded me that growth comes from stepping outside of my comfort zone. As I continue my internship, I want to carry this mindset with me—rather than backing away from challenges, I’ll embrace them, push myself to improve, and get back up every time I fall.

I met Ayden from Hawaii. He first approached my roommate, J, at the dining commons, complimenting her outfit. Ayden himself had a great sense of style and was incredibly friendly, making it easy to connect despite meeting for the first time. He took us to Shanghai Plaza and introduced us to Labubu, a collectible figure that’s currently trending in the U.S. I was surprised to see a long line of people waiting to buy it. I’ve waited in lines for K-pop merchandise in Korea, but I never expected to see a similar craze for cute collectibles here—it was really interesting!

While drinking with Ayden, I asked him about American drinking games. After thinking for a moment, he mentioned beer pong but couldn’t name any others. I wasn’t sure if the U.S. just doesn’t have many drinking games or if Ayden simply didn’t know them, but it surprised me since Korea has countless games that don’t require any special equipment. The idea of drinking without games felt unfamiliar to me. So, we introduced Ayden to some Korean drinking games, including Apt Game (which became popular through Rosé’s song), 3-6-9, and Baskin-Robbins 31. He found them really fun and eagerly learned each one. We also decided to try beer pong together next time!

I reflected on the fact that I don’t ask a lot of questions. I always thought it was better to figure things out on my own first and only show others once I had everything perfectly done. But at least in the U.S., I realized that this isn’t necessarily a good attitude. Before asking a question, I felt embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know something, and I was also afraid of being criticized. But when I actually asked, nothing bad happened. In fact, I realized that if I don’t ask, nothing happens at all—I just miss out on chances to learn. I know it won’t be easy to change this right away, but I want to keep trying to ask more questions and be more proactive in learning.

I am currently working on validating the reliability of the quadcopter simulator by comparing simulation results with real-world data. I learned that one of the most straightforward ways to do this is by comparing the drone’s vertical height in both scenarios.

To measure the drone’s height in a real-world setting, I learned how to use a motion capture (mo-cap) system. I calibrated the mo-cap environment, added the drone as a rigid body, and confirmed that its movements were accurately reflected on the screen. This process will allow us to collect position data from both the simulation and the real drone, making it possible to analyze their accuracy and ensure consistency between the two.