In the quest for the perfect note-taking application, I stumbled upon Obsidian, a powerful tool that promised to revolutionize the way I organize my thoughts and ideas. Eager to make the most of it, I dove headfirst into customization, experimenting with various extensions and settings to tailor the app to my liking.

At first, I was drawn to the idea of creating a visually appealing workspace, filled with widgets and themes that reflected my personality. However, as I delved deeper into the functionality of Obsidian, I realized that simplicity was key. Instead of overwhelming myself with unnecessary add-ons, I focused on incorporating extensions that truly enhanced my workflow.

Among the plethora of extensions available, two stood out as game-changers: Ollama and Excalidraw. Ollama, with its locally running LLM, provided me with invaluable summarization capabilities. Whether I needed to condense lengthy notes into bullet points or delve deeper into a topic, Ollama was there to assist me, especially during my upper division classes in college.

Another gem in Obsidian's arsenal was Excalidraw, a tool that simplified the creation of flowcharts and diagrams. As a student grappling with complex algorithms and state machines, Excalidraw proved to be indispensable in visually representing abstract concepts, making studying and comprehension a breeze.

Despite the hype surrounding Obsidian as a "second brain," I found myself gravitating towards a different perspective. While I appreciated its organizational features and the ability to establish connections between notes, what truly resonated with me was the sense of ownership and control it provided over my data.

Unlike online services like Notion or Google Docs, where my notes felt transient and susceptible to external influences, Obsidian offered a sanctuary for my thoughts. My notes belonged to me and me alone, and it was empowering to be the architect of my own knowledge repository.

In essence, Obsidian isn't just a "second brain" – it's the manifestation of my first brain, meticulously laid out across all my devices. It's a tool that empowers me to take ownership of my learning journey, connecting the dots and shaping my understanding of the world around me. And for that, I'm grateful.