I’ve been hesitant to write anything the past 3ish months - partly because I don’t know what I’d write about, but mostly because I have, for some reason, felt like this needs to be a professional, highly polished collection of thoughts with intellectual(?) value. I still feel this to an extent, but I’ve let this judgement of value stop me from Doing Things in the past and I really want to work past it. So, here’s a post of questionable value. Something to get words on screen while I reflect on the past year and look to 2025.
2024
The last year was both eventful and stagnant. Some highlights include:
- Graduated NYU with an M.S.
- Traveled for weddings, family, and friends
- Explored NYC
- Spent some real, quality time with family
- Made an actual effort to improve my physical health (am I a runner now?)
- Started weekly trivia nights with friends (team name: We’re Not That Bad)
But, the last 7 months have largely blurred together. All the good times (and there were plenty of good times) have been overshadowed by the increasing pressures of unemployment.
That’s a bit dramatic… all things considered I’ve been extremely fortunate, but it would be nice to have a steady job.
One silver lining is that I’ve had ample time to explore hobbies and interests. I’ve discovered that I really enjoy reinforcement learning and its applications in robotics. Really something I wish I knew sooner… like, before grad school so I could focus my studies more? Oh well, better late than never!
Looking forward
Every year around New Years Eve, a few friends and I have this tradition of choosing a word for the coming year. Some guiding light for what we plan to pursue or hope the new year might bring. In the past few years my words have been along the lines of “build” or “create” - I can’t remember the exact words, but the intention was to “build” toward my goals and “create” more than I consume.
This year, finding a word has been a struggle. The one that immediately comes to mind is “job”… but that seems shortsighted. I’d like to do more this year than just work, but unlike previous years I don’t have some overarching goal for how I want to spend time. Instead, I’ve decided to focus on my relationships and build a network of people in all areas of life. Really, I want to “connect”.
2025 will be the year of connecting - with friends, family, neighbors, professional contacts, anyone! I want to create new bonds, and strengthen the ones I already have. I want to call distant friends more to catch up. I want to volunteer at my local library and offer my help where I can. I want to reach out to and talk with people in industries I’m interested in.
I’ve long believed that the best parts of life are the people around us. This year, those people are my focus.
So, in the spirit of connecting with you, the reader (whoever you are), here are some goals and promises I’m making going forward.
- Call at least one long-distance friend every month
- Or more if they don’t mind!
- Read more
- Books, research papers, etc.
- Take more notes
- I started using Obsidian! Having a place to dump all my thoughts has been great so far.
- Take more pictures
- Similar to more notes, in the theme of “record keeping”
- Volunteer in my local community
- So many good causes out there: safe streets, better public space, more housing, local libraries!
- Run a half marathon
- Or even a full if I can really commit
- Finish at least 2 side projects
- So many in the backlog…
Hoping to look back on this post in a year with a new job, more/better connections, and better health. Happy new year!