The Late End Year Review – 2018

I know I am really, really late, but better late than never.
This past year has been really formative for me.

In this short personal retrospective post, I am just going to divide my experience into 3 categories, the good, the bad and the ugly best.

The Bad

  1. My father got really sick and I got really scared by the thought of losing him.
  2. I moved on from the first company I joined, because I was getting a bit stifled and yearned to learn and grow more.
  3. My brother got transferred, so I had to live without family for the first time in my life. I had never lived alone before this.
  4. I was not able to take the 3 month sabbatical, I thought I could.
  5. I couldn’t find a stable home and was on the run from one place to another constantly.

The Good

  1. I learnt how to live alone. I learnt how to find peace while being alone. Because of this, I could also explore more books and more importantly I could spend more time by myself figuring out what kind of person I want to become.
  2. I got a job with Clootrack, where people are amazing to work with and there is so much to learn.
  3. I found the chutzpah to quit my job, even thought I didn’t have a back up. In roundabout way, it gave me the strength to take risks in life and the courage to handle its consequences.
  4. Bad times help you discover good friends. I am not trying to boast about it, (but you are 😝– ed) but I am thankful to God that I have an overwhelming number of good friends.
  5. I got asked out in a coffee shop! This has never happened to me before. (BUT YES! THIS HAPPENED!).
  6. I wrote few poems this year, all of them heartfelt.
  7. I gained a measure of financial independence and the experience of how to handle things when everything is going south.
  8. I finally wrote a project and released it. I was fortunate enough to get few contributors.
  9. I am more aware now, and have stopped taking people and time for granted.
  10. Started Dosa Culture.
  11. Applied to more conferences to give a talk.

The Best

  1. I read more this year and got to learn about a lot of things from Feynman to Krebs. I explored fiction, non fiction, self help, and humour.
  2. I went to Varanasi (home) more than I ever did in the last five years of my life. I spent lots of time with my parents. I am planning to do it more.
  3. Went on a holiday to Pondicherry. I went for a holiday for the first time, with the money I saved up for the trip. I saw the sunrise of 1st January sitting on Rock beach.
  4. Got rejected at all the conferences I applied for. No matter. It motivates me even more, to try harder, to dance on the edge, to learn more, do more. It helps me strive for greatness, while also being a good reality check.
  5. Spent more time on working on hobby projects and contributing to open source.
  6. Got a chance to be a visiting faculty, and teach programming in college.
  7. Lived more! Learnt More! Loved More!

I feel I might be missing quite a few things in the lists, but these are the few, that helped me grow as a person. They impacted me deeply and changed my way of looking at life.

I hope the coming year brings better experiences and more learning!

Until then,
Live Long and Prosper! (so cheesy – ed)

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