The last month has been the most intense yet rewarding part of the cybersecurity bootcamp, focusing heavily on offensive security tactics and penetration testing. Learning to use Shodan for reconnaissance, understanding the intricacies of the MITRE attack framework, and practicing exploitation with Metasploit has transformed my theoretical knowledge into practical, actionable skills. This segment of the bootcamp has solidified my desire to specialize in offensive security, where I aim to proactively improve systems’ defenses by understanding and exploiting their weaknesses.