As a part of the Australian Physics Olympiad Team, I competed in the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2023 held in Tokyo, Japan. To me, the preparation for IPhO and the event itself were both rewarding challenges: working upon the my weaknesses from APhO, connecting with like-minded peers and profressionals from all over the world, and experiencing snpashots of contemporary and traditional Japanese culture: a trip that has definitely broadened my horizons.
In the end, I achieved a silver medal. Despite being proud of this result, the one thing I've realised during this Olympiad journey is that I've barely even scratched the surface of physics: there is still so much physics to explore beyond HRK (which I used to think of as the bible of physics). I hope I'll learn more physics in the future, I guess?