Howdy! Long time no blog. It’s been a while as I’ve been focusing on wrapping up 2021 as best as I could. These months in my opinion have been the most productive this year, as I have been using them to identify what kind of life I want to live, as well as how I can work towards achieving the things necessary in order to sustain this kind of lifestyle. I’ll be going through what kind of challenges/events that occurred each month, as well as some takeaways that I’ve learned from these experiences.

Month Recap

June

Planned and hosted a party for my birthday (new for me)
Adopted a jindo from Korea who we’ve named ‘Yuna’
Began weekly study sessions with my buddy Junn to review CS fundamentals + interview prep

July

Lots of social events with friends & family
Parent’s anniversary in Napa
Andy’s White Coat weekend (big source of inspiration for me!)

August

Took interview preparation a lot more seriously and began the cycle of interviews
One last big rafting trip with the Inforian youngins before many of them left :(
Megan & Aervin’s wedding + Mendicino week with Christine

September

Lots more social events (Giants game, Second Sky, Eric’s Engagement party)
Reconnected with some friends I havent seen in quite some time

October

BIG interview period. Totaling 6 phone screens and 4 technical code pairs.
Additionally, transitioned towards spending a lot of time practicing on Leetcode + System Design concepts
Promoted to Senior Software Engineer @ Infor Nexus

November

Celebrated 7 years with Christine on a trip Joshua Tree with our dogs Scrappy and Yuna
Thanksgiving celebrations with family
Continued to interview (3 phone screens, 1 code pair, 1 on site)

December

Wrapped up interviewing period (2 phone screens & 1 on site)
Hosted a Christmas celebration, as well as celebrated with family

Takeaways

I’ve learned a lot through the above experiences and the rest that I’ve had this year, and I’ll try to list them out:

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” Many times I would find myself comparing my worth to others based on a bunch of different factors. Money, talent, intelligence, career growth, as well as many more. When I would dwell upon this feeling, I would find myself getting demotivated or frustrated. Why were certain things so challenging for me that others seemed to be achieving with little to no problem? This kind of thinking would throw me in a slump, and it never felt right. It took me a while to realize that this mindset was not helpful in any way. Comparing myself and my journey to others and theirs is in no way productive. There are too many variables and unknown factors that contribute to any person’s journey. Even if circumstances are similar, complaining and being envious of others isn’t going to make myself better. I needed to learn to stop obsessing about others’ successes, and spend that time in my lane, bettering myself however I can. Results are simply the byproduct of good habits, and I needed to focus on ridding the bad and focusing on the good.
“Those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” I’ve learned a lot about this year about friendships, and the ones that I keep close. Growing up, I’ve always tried to make as many friends as I could, by making sure that everyone I thought was cool liked me back. Sure this meant that I could hang out with a lot of different people and groups, but at the same time, the friendships were never truly deep. I would put on a mask of some version of myself that that specific person would like to hang out with. This year, I’ve learned to be more comfortable being myself with my friends. A version that isn’t always the most social or funny guy to hang out with, but one that can be quiet or lazy, or even boring at times. The friends that still appreciate coming to hang out despite this are the real ones, and I’m learning to be better about who I let in to see this more genuine side.
“Whether you think you can or can’t, either way, you are right.” The quote I used for my middle school grad is ringing true even now. This year was a big year for growth in many ways for myself. I used to (and still do to an extent) deal with a lot of anxieties or stress when it comes to things I don’t want to do, but know realistically is the right and most logical next step for me. I kept hearing a lot about manifestation in 2021, and I’ve learned to believe in it’s methodology. For me, that meant envisioning what I want, and defining out the smaller goals necessary to achieve said desire. Even though I would occasionally dread the smaller steps to get there (i.e. interviewing & studying, or taking the initiative to make a call), I knew I HAD to do it in order to achieve the bigger dream. I was lucky to be able to manifest a few different things I’ve dreamt for some time, and coming 2022, I hope to continue to bring that energy and build towards the rest of my future.

If you’ve read through all of this, I sincerely thank you. 2021, despite the challenge and struggle, was a great year for me. I can gladly say I’m a better person this year than last year.