I don’t know why I even started this CS50 Cybersecurity course. Maybe just for time pass, maybe just because it was from Harvard, or maybe just because I wanted another certificate to add to my collection. Either way, I enrolled on 28 May 2024 through edX. I had already watched some live sessions before, so answering the questions wasn’t really an issue. Of course, I didn’t want to waste much time, so I made some changes to my answers using GPT and submitted them.
That’s when I noticed something important in the instructions—plagiarism detection. I immediately checked my submission, and turns out only 50% of it was unique. Not wanting to take any risks of getting de-enrolled, I ran it through a humanizing tool, made it up to 80% unique, and then submitted it properly. A day later, I got my first confirmation mail: my assignment had been submitted. Cool. Then, the score came—10/10. I was shocked. But after a moment, I realized it wasn’t the real deal; it was just Assignment 0. Basically, just a test to see if the submission process worked properly.
So, I moved on to Assignment 1. Same process, same tools, no changes. Submitted it and got a score of around 9. Not bad. The course had six assignments in total—five writing assignments and one final project that required a video explanation. I finished all my writing assignments on Mon, 2 Sept 2024. The easiest part was just processing everything through tools, making sure it wasn’t flagged, and submitting it without a second thought.
But the real challenge was the final project. I had to pick a cybersecurity topic, research it, and present my findings in a video. I wanted something recent, something that had real-world impact. That’s when I came across the “Remote Control Vulnerability in Kia Vehicles.” It was one of the biggest cybersecurity issues at the time, and it caught my attention immediately. I spent days researching, making notes, and putting everything together. After enough work, I finally completed the project and submitted it on Fri, 1 Nov 2024.
Then came the waiting period. I wasn’t sure if I had done everything correctly, and the course was supposed to be completed in just 8 weeks. But here I was, 4 months in, still unsure if I’d get the certificate or not. The anxiety kicked in. I checked my email every day, waiting for an update, refreshing my inbox like a madman. And then, finally, on Tue, 12 Nov 2024, at around 09:40 AM, the mail arrived. The certificate was generated successfully.
I felt relieved. But at the same time, I knew this wasn’t really a big deal. It was just a time pass. Just another certificate. Still, it was a process, an experience, something to look back on. And that’s why I’m writing this—to remind myself that even when things seem unnecessary, they still become a part of my timeline, a part of my story. I finished CS50 Cybersecurity in 4 months instead of 8 weeks, and in the end, all that mattered was that I did it.