2021 has been a great year full of a lot of growth despite the ups and downs. I gained a lot materially in my personal life such as my puppy Ace. Got to travel to another country and actually have my first vacation (Aruba) I was also able to secure a job that includes some form of development. (JW Player)

Goals for 2022

• Have Mentors: It's difficult doing things alone, building an image of authenticity without someone to vouch for you can be daunting. I hope to find a mentor that can help guide me.
• Read 10 books: I haven't read as much as I used to in the past. Books are great leverage when there is a lack of community/mentorship because they provide some of the most skilled experts at ones fingertips.
• Code More: Part of improving my capabilities as a developer is to ship and do more. If I consistently code on a daily basis, I will create the habits I need to become a more competent developer.
• Community Involvement: As I hinted earlier in this list, community is paramount for me to not feel isolated. The challenge I see with the online community is how pervasive and time-consuming it can be, but I will still push myself to cultivate one. I can go to meetups or hackathons.
• Write More: I haven't written a formal essay in a couple of years now, so there are clearly areas of improvements for me. Writing more will help me structure my thoughts and build legitimacy in whatever domains I wish to insert myself in. Plus writing is like magic in that it can construct objects that did not exist until invoked.
• Learn in Public: This is pretty self-explanatory but learning in public has two benefits. It helps build a personal brand and helps other newer engineers learn along the way. I want to build a personal brand in the developer community both online and offline. The concept of learning publicly is explained here.

2021 Victories

• I successfully got a role with "engineer" as part of my title. 😀
• I survived raising a puppy even though he's obscenely stubborn.
• I made it to the second year of living away from my parents and it's been better than ever.
• I've gotten significantly stronger at the gym and have been successful at bench-pressing 270lbs 💪🏿.

I have had quite a year, there are many details that I have missed but as an overview I think this hits the mark. Goals are important but what matters most is how I accomplish them.

Cheers to an amazing 2021. I am looking forward to 2022 and what it has to offer. Hopefully it turns out to be better than 2021!