atif@anom — journey

feb 2022 note

Got my first PC

After COVID-19, a lot of schools were still doing online classes, and mine was the same. My mom had a phone, but it was honestly kinda trash for classes, so I kept asking my dad to get me a PC. After some time, he finally bought me one so I could attend classes properly. But after using it for a few months, I kinda got addicted to it and started exploring more stuff about computers and all that.

apr 2022 note

My First Gaming Experience on PC

After about a month, I found out I could play games on my PC. I tried getting GTA SA, but since I didn’t have Wi-Fi at home, I went to a shop and got it on a pendrive. That was the first game I installed and played on my PC, and it felt amazing. Then I thought, if GTA SA works, GTA V should too—but I had no idea about specs back then. Somehow I still got it, but it lagged so much it was basically unplayable.

jun 2022 note

Discovered Modding

After finishing GTA V, I got bored and started watching videos where people had real cars and crazy mods. I wondered why my game couldn’t be like that, and that’s when I discovered modding.

I began messing with game files—installing mods, breaking the game, fixing it, and repeating. That’s how I started understanding how games actually work behind the scenes.

I got hooked on it, and around the same time, my brother set up Wi-Fi at home, so things got even easier and yeah, this is how I ended up spending almost all of 2022 and half of 2023 on this.

mar 2023 note

Reality Hit: 10th Grade

After spending so much time on modding and games, I didn’t even realize I was already in 10th. And in India, 10th actually matters a lot, so I had to reduce all this stuff and start studying seriously.

dec 2023 note

The Choice I Regret Later

When I started studying, I realized I was really bad at math, and exams were already close. Around that time, the school asked us to choose between Basic and Standard Math. It wasn’t just a simple choice—it actually affected what subjects we could take later.

If you chose Basic Math, you couldn’t take Math in higher classes. If you chose Standard, you had more options.

Because of my fear of math, I chose Basic and that turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made.

may 2024 note

The Pressure to Choose

After passing 10th, I couldn’t take PCM because I had chosen Basic Math. I initially planned to go for Commerce, but things didn’t go that way.

Some relatives pushed me toward PCB, saying becoming a doctor would help improve my family’s financial condition. Under that pressure, I ended up choosing PCB. My parents enrolled me in a coaching institute, and I continued school privately.

The coaching fee was around 2 lakh INR ($2,149.19) for a year, which made it feel even more serious. I slowly got used to the environment, made new friends, and started studying.

nov 2024 note

Only Physics Made Sense

During this time, I slowly started understanding things better. Out of all the subjects, Physics was the only one I actually enjoyed. Topics like electrostatics, current, and mechanics just made sense to me.

Chemistry felt like pure memorization, which I didn’t like at all, and Biology wasn’t going well either. The only thing keeping me interested was Physics.

That’s when I started realizing that maybe I had chosen the wrong path. And with all this going on, the year came to an end.

may 2025 note

Things Started Changing

My final year started, and things were mostly the same I still only understood Physics properly. But my PC usage changed during this time. Instead of playing games, I mostly used it for studying, listening to music, and watching lectures.

oct 2025 note

When I Discovered Linux

In October 2025, Windows 10 was no longer supported, and my PC couldn’t upgrade to Windows 11. So I decided to try a different operating system. I started with Zorin OS, and after seeing how customizable and free Linux was, I got hooked. Then I tried Linux Mint, and even attempted Arch Linux—but that was too much for me at the time, so I switched back. Later, I came across Omarchy OS.

By this point, I was so deep into exploring Linux that I almost forgot I was a student with final exams coming up.

nov 2025 milestone

Where I Started Building

After installing Omarchy OS, I started diving deep into Linux. This was the first time I actually tried coding, even though I didn’t really know anything.

I created my first theme called “Rainy Night,” and that’s where it all started. As I got more comfortable, I began making more themes and improving them.

Later, I connected with some people from the community who helped me learn and get better at what I was doing.

nov 2025 project

Minimal Waybar Themes

After creating several themes for the community, I wanted to build something bigger. I discovered Waybar on Omarchy OS and saw how customizable it was.

I came across a GitHub repository with great Waybar themes that inspired me, so I started my own project called “minimal-waybar-themes.” While working on it, I learned a lot of CSS since Waybar relies on it for styling.

I also learned by studying others’ work and got help from the community. Over time, I kept improving and maintaining the project. I even released version 7, and it now has 130+ stars on GitHub.

jan 2026 learning

Right Interest, Wrong Timing

It was now 2026, and I somehow forgot that my exams were just a month away. Instead of focusing on Biology, I got deeper into tech.

I started learning Bash and picked up basics like loops, conditions, and input handling. But I kept jumping between things—I tried Python, found it boring, and then moved to C.

This time, I focused more seriously. I started taking notes in Obsidian (someone suggested it), and learned the basics of C, especially how it interacts closely with computer hardware.

feb 2026 note

Too Late to Fix Everything

Around this time, things started catching up to me. I am in 12th grade and my exams were just 15 days away, and I hadn’t properly studied subjects like English and Hindi for almost two years.

I dropped everything else and tried to focus again, but I was still struggling. With exams just a couple of days away and Ramadan going on at the same time it was a lot to handle. Still, I gave all my exams.

Right after that, NEET preparation started. It wasn’t something I really wanted, but I still went along with it for my parents.

mar 2026 project

Couldn’t Stay Away

At this point, I was supposed to be fully focused on NEET—the toughest exam ahead of me. But instead, I ended up starting a new project called “Anomshell,” a quick shell configuration for Omarchy OS.

I don’t even know why I started it at that time, but I got pulled into fixing and building it, almost ignoring the fact that my exams were coming up.

By the end of March, I realized I needed to stop and focus on studies, so I paused the project. But even then, I couldn’t completely pull myself away from it.

now present

still going.

At this point, I started regretting my decision to choose Basic Math. By now, I had become quite good at Physics—I could even score around 120+ in NEET-level tests.

But I also kept thinking about what would happen if I failed NEET. Around the same time, my 12th results came out, and I had an average of around 70%, with Physics being my strongest subject as usual.

That’s when I finally faced the truth. I realized this path wasn’t really mine. So I decided to give NEET one proper, final attempt—and after that, I’ll talk to my parents about moving into BCS or BCA.

This is where I am right now, trying to choose my own path and work toward what I actually want to do.

journey.