That feeling you get when you come home after a jam-packed weekend. A powerufl mix of contentment, exhaustion, and familiarity when you fall face first into your bed. I think that pretty much describes the essense of my entire being at the moment.
Last year, I ended my reflection with a letter of invitation for sponteneity to enter my life. Wow. It answered, loud and clear. I didn't realize the sheer amount of STUFF that can fit into a year. It feels like I've lived 5 years within the span of a year. Let's break it down to the highlights:
I'm still struggling to comprehend just how varied and diverse my past year has been, in spite of (or perhaps due to) the restrictions of the pandemic. First off, I'm so grateful that I got to learn, experience, and befriend in so so many ways. I've gotten a sizeable taste of the 'outside world' - the working world after school; a huge portion of that being the startup experience as both founder and founding engineer.
Especially near the end of the year, I've begun to realize that my anxiety about needing to find a purpose and capitalize on my limited youth are unfounded (but understandable) worries from a confused young person. It seems the human expeirence is not about a set of deadlines or achievements, but I am still trying to figure out what it really is about.
My biggest lessons from this year:
Looking at my goals from last year:
For the next year, my explorations will probably shift from an external setting to an internal one. I think I've lived out of a suitcase for long enough, and I'd like to settle down for a bit to look inwards, nurture my hobbies and study my passions. It'll be a good time to recenter, meditate, and rediscover myself.
Thanks to my experiment of trying (really hard) at new things, I no longer feel that I have to prove to myself I can do something. This year my goals will center around personal growth and nourishment of the mind, body, and spirit. My hypothesis is that if I do what I like doing, I will naturally find my dream career and project. Moreover, our brains work in such a way that regularity matters more than cramming hours. The key here will be to establish regular intervals of mindfulness and personal growth so I don't get caught up too much in the short term.
Goals for this year
See you around, 2022!
~ My year in 10 photos ~