I’ve been putting this off for quite some time but I just want to go over some observations about my last year. What I did and didn’t do, how it went and what I want to do going forward. I going to start with saying that I want to accomplish next year. It’s not too much but I think some small changes will make a big difference. I want to write more. I think writing is the biggest flexor of my mind and by far the easiest and best way for me to express myself. I have a lot of thoughts that I want to pour out in the world and I think writing is pivotal to me achieving my ideas. I want to also improve my writing so another thing I want to do is read more. In 2015 I did a really good job with this and for some reason I didn’t continue that. So far that’s all I want to add to 2017.

2016 year was an interesting year for me, you know, in the way that some people will say “that’s interesting” when they have no idea how to react. I’m not very good at looking back but this year in review forces me to do it and really think about what I did. Did I do better or worse than last year? Did I continue or live up to any of my goals for the last year? I think it’s good to look back and evaluate and course correct because I’m in this on my own for now. There is no one keeping me accountable for myself and I do not mind calling myself out on my bullshit. I’m going to start by taking a look at some of the things that I listed off last year and give my thoughts on it.

*I’m going to number the points that I want to write about. *1,2,5,6,9,10,17,19

1) I explored more of my interest. I feel like I’ve moved more toward the “why” in my life.

• So my thoughts on this is that I’m still lost. I have no idea what my why is but I still do feel like I’m moving closer. Most recently I’ve been obsessed with the idea of being an artist. Of someone who is uniquely skilled at what they do (not strictly related to art. I read “So good they can’t ignore you” by Cal Newport and I love this idea. Notice said “idea”. I’m not sure if what I want is the end result and not what it takes to get there. I know that anything I want to pursue is going to require a lot of work, but I’m not really sure where to start. I’ve made progress in some areas and non at all in other areas. I have explored more of my interests but in another point I’ll describe how I feel like I’ve backfired.

2) Explored multiple avenues of learning. Reading books, articles, watching online learning tutorials, mooc, interactive learning platforms, paid and free classes.

-This time around I’ve used video more than ever before. Youtube has been my life in 2016. It’s by far my most used app and really where I find anything I need. Most of what I know in 2016 is from YouTube. I did try some audiobooks as well as some podcasts. It might be the first year where I don’t tune in to regular TV once. I’ve lived entirely in my phone and computer. In another post I can discuss who I’m subscribed to because I think it really reflects where my head is at right now. As far as my paid subscription I’m currently paying for skillshare, beachbody on demand. I have some paid content on Udemy but I haven’t logged into that once in 2016. I also payed for a course on coach that was created by a YouTuber I watch. Skillshare has been valuable for learning from people who are already good at something that I want to be good at. The problem is two-fold however. 1) I actually have to watch the videos and 2) I actually have to apply what I learned. This might sound like common sense but I didn’t really do this all that much. I somehow convinced myself that watching was a good as doing and it’s not the case at all. As of right now it’s kind of a waste of money yet it doesn’t make me feel as bad as owning something like netflix. BBOD offered me with my first foray into the world of fitness. On it’s own it’s a pretty good product, of course assuming you actually follow along. With this is did mostly insanity workouts, which I’ve consistently gone deep in. I’ve yet to fully complete the program but I’ve been using it a lot on and off, which to me is a much better improvement from not doing anything at all. Overall, I think I’m more active than I’ve ever been. I’ve walked home from work for the first time ever and I’m making the conscious decision to fit more walking into my day. I could go deeper into everything but I have other things to review. Overall, I’ve chosen less platforms for learning but I’ve used them more, but not as much as I’d like to.

5) Joined some slack groups with other devs with similar interests.

• It’s been cool to see so many other devs from so many different places in one chat. On the times that I’ve read the chat I really felt like I was part of something, though to be honest to times were very numbered. I played the role of fly on the wall so I didn’t say much myself. I don’t think I knew more than anyone there so I felt a little scared to contribute any of my thoughts. I haven’t checked these chats but I get the feeling that they know it’s slowly dying too. I think a lot of go through these phases of excitement when we’re trying to learn something new. Then it gets to a point where things kind of died down. Some chat I would check once a month and there were less posts each month. It’s not that they’re “busy” doing something, but more like the mood has changed. I made the mistake (again) of thinking that just joining a group like this would somehow make me better even without doing anything. Any platform is as good as you make it. That goes for online and in school.

6) Joined some meetups in my area to find people of similar interests.

• This is disingenuous. Yes, I joined groups on the App Meetup, but I did not attend a single meetup. Why? Because I’m a scared little shit. I really have no excuse but if there’s something I really dropped the ball on it’s this. Again I felt like taking this first step was important, but I didn’t really pursue it at all.

9) Created a blog to showcase projects and pursue writings interests.

-Sure but the last thing I wrote about was a progress report on what I was doing. Perhaps this was under the idea that I was “doing” so much that I had no time for writing. I definitely want to change that this time around.

10) Bought a DSLR to pursue photography interests.

I haven’t used this as much as I’d like but I did use it from time to time. I got some really nice images, but mostly for other people. I’ve learned a lot the camera I have but I’d like to take it a step further. This year I also played a lot more with lightroom and it’s amazing what can be done to a raw photo. I want to do more of this in 2017.

17) Recorded very first podcast episode with a friend.

Sighhhh. So what to say about the podcast. You know what? We released 12 episodes. I will equate that to one for each month. When we managed to meet up it was awesome. I honestly feel that each one got better than the last and that’s what I set out to do. Unfortunately it stopped kind of early in the year. Even though I started with a sigh, I’m actually not upset. That was more because of the higher ambitions I had for it, but I’m totally okay with where it reached. I like doing so many things that if the podcast really took off then I would not have any time to do anything else, not to mention things that my co-host would’ve wanted to do. I will assure you it’s not dead. I have some plans that I don’t want to say anything about because there is no clear timeline, but I definitely still want to podcast. The 12 episodes we created were awesome and in different settings with awesome discussions. I learned a ton in the process and it was an overall favorable experience.

19) Pursued creative interests and ideas with friends.

-Boy did I mess up with this. Remember how I said if the podcast did good I would be too busy to do other things? Something happened in the last episode that made it a lot easier for me to stop podcasting for a while. There was a lot more work than I expected. I was okay with it, but it slowly took it’s toll on me. Not in a big way either but enough to make me want to look for other things to do. Honestly, it was a relief to not have to get back into it. In the process I bit up more than I can chew and promised to work on things with other people. I don’t know what made me think I could handle it. I think it has to do with how excited I was that other friends wanted to create something too. Of course I wanted to help, but I didn’t have it in me. I’m disappointed that this happened, but at the same time I’ve learned what my limits are. It’s still hard not to overcommit but I now have an experience that I can reference when i come close to this situation again.

Okay there is more to write but like I said in the beginning, I’ve put this off for quite some time now. It was supposed to go out on my birthday like the last one. Anyways I’m gonna post what I got an make improvements over time. I can’t get wrapped up in making something perfect.