The year is drawing to a close. People are tidying away their Christmas decorations and slowly remembering they have to return to work. This year is a special one as it also marks the end of the decade as well.

A lot has happened over this last year, and even more so this last decade. As I lay here in bed, recovering from a recent operation, I’ve had plenty of time to think back on the past, as well as look to the future. At the beginning of this decade, I was still at university worrying about how well I was doing… now I’m at work worrying about pretty much the same thing 😆 . This past decade I completed my university degree, became a professional software developer and expanded my skillset into user experience design. I’ve finally managed to learn to drive — several years too late, much to the amusement of my friends — and climbed onto the property ladder. It’s been a wild ride and despite it being hard at times, it’s one that’s worth being on.

Truthfully though, I don’t think I’ve felt happier about life as I do now. This year has been one where I’ve really been able to make myself a better person than I have been, with the support of my friends and family. 2017 and 2018 were quite rough for me, both emotionally and mentally; 2019 has been the first year I’ve felt I’ve actually been able to change things for the better — even if the changes are quite small. I’m extremely lucky to have my friends, most of which have gone above and beyond to provide support and just be there when I’ve needed them (you know who you are; I cannot thank you all enough). There’s some things I’d have never have done if it weren’t for all these people cheering me on, and I honestly wouldn’t be here (both literally and metaphorically) if it weren’t for them.

Despite reducing my online presence in 2018, I’ve managed to build a small, close-knit community around some of the things I’ve done this last year. Silly office projects, 3D printed gadgets, artworks containing in-jokes or epic scale projects in games: to an outsider, these may seem ridiculous, but these are some of the things that I’ve looked forward to sharing with these groups — either to make people laugh, or to encourage collaboration and ideas. I don’t think I’ll ever quite realise that these little things mean this much to more than just myself so I just want to thank everyone involved for being so awesome, open and understanding.

I’ve got plenty more things I want to do coming up, and the start of the new decade is definitely looking a promising place to start off. Here’s to 2020!

A quick recap

As I mentioned above, I’ve had some health issues that culminated with an operation just before Christmas. I am currently recovering from that, but will be out of action for at least a few months.

The day of my operation marked a year’s anniversary for me getting the keys to my new place. Most of the year has been spent making the place more homely or creating a garden that I can be proud of. I’ve been able to grow my own vegetables this year, and August brought with it an excess of tomatoes that I had to donate to others!

2019’s resolutions

One of my goals over the last few years has been trying to reduce my impact on the environment. I know that talking about this is comparable to a tiny drop in an ocean, but it’s a start and even the smallest things help.

At the end of 2017 I purchased a 3D printer. 2018 was very much the year of repairing things with stuff I printed and I continued to build upon that in 2019 by actually creating my own things instead of going out and buying new items. Scattered around my house are small things that I’ve made to solve problems; examples include soap dishes, pen holders and storage containers. The printer uses plant-based PLA which I’m trying to source from responsible sources.

I’ve also worked exceedingly hard to reduce waste in 2019, and have got to the state where I don’t need to empty the non-recyclable waste bin every collection day. Since I’m in the IT sector, I’ve also helped reduce the amount of electronic waste in the world by prioritising purchases of second-hand technologies when needed. I can confidently say that all but one of my technological purchases this year were preowned.

Progression at work has gone better this year as I finally was given the green light to go for a hybrid User Experience and Front End Developer role. It’s been a significant challenge, but there are clearly positive results coming out of it — both for myself and the company I work for. Moving into 2020 I will continue furthering my career with this in mind.

I am rapidly becoming the HTML and CSS “go to” person in my project, which is both a blessing and a curse. The added visibility is great, however there are several people on the team who would much rather give their work to me and then claim the credit for it after.

My other resolutions didn’t fare as well: the annual statement of “I’ll lose weight” will continue into next year, and the plan to cycle most days to work have been scuppered somewhat by health issues and general lack of motivation.