2022 In Review

As 2023 begins, I want to take a moment to reflect on everything that's happened in my life this year. It has been an exciting and transformative year - I'm proud of the progress I have made. From becoming temporarily debt free and starting a new job at a popular tech company, to moving to Colorado and finding some great friends, I have had a lot to celebrate.

When a new year rolls around it's great to set goals for the future, but I think it's also important to reflect on the past. In this post, I want to share some of my key accomplishments and talk about what they have meant to me. I hope that by sharing my experiences, I can inspire others to celebrate their own achievements and look back on the year with pride.

Starting at AWS

In March, I started at Amazon Web Services. It's been a great opportunity. I never expected to land a job at such a prestigious software company, especially since I don't have a four year degree. However, since I've started working in software development I have been passionate about building stellar websites and have worked hard to develop my skills both on and off the job. When the opportunity to join AWS presented itself, I knew I had to take it.

I've appreciated AWS because the company has a strong culture of continuous learning. My favorite display of this has been attending in-person workshops at FrontendMasters to learn a new web technology I really enjoy, Remix. Late last year I put on a workshop for my team of about a dozen people to teach the fundamentals of the Remix framework. It was a great growth opportunity for me as someone who wants to get better at presenting technical topics.

Becoming (Mostly) Debt Free

Towards the beginning of the year, I paid off my student loans and was debt free. It was a huge accomplishment for me. The sense of relief and freedom that comes with being debt free is truly priceless.

However, later in the year my 4Runner broke down and I made the decision to buy a truck. It ends up working out better now that I drive out to the mountains much more frequently, and I love being able to haul skis out without an issue. While I'm not technically debt free anymore, I'm looking forward to paying the new vehicle off in a very reasonable amount of time and am excited explore the mountains with it.

Overall, strong progress made towards my goal of financial freedom.

Moving to Colorado

I've wanted to live out by the mountains ever since I visited for the first time. When I got hired at AWS this became a reality. Four black costco totes, a loaded up vehicle, and fourteen hours of drive time later I was in Golden.

Moving to Colorado was a big step for me, but I was excited for the adventure and the opportunity to start fresh in a new place. However, I didn't have a long-term place to stay when I first arrived and was a bit uncertain about how I would find a permanent home and build a community.

Fortunately, things worked out better than I could have hoped. Through crossfit gyms and churches, I was able to meet some amazing people who have become great friends. I am grateful to have found such a supportive and welcoming community in Colorado and feel blessed to have these people in my life. Finding these friends has made the transition to a new state much easier and more enjoyable.

What the Future Holds

As I look back on all that I have accomplished in 2022, I am filled with excitement for the future. This year has been full of new experiences, challenges, and growth, and I am eager to see what the next chapter will bring.

In an effort to not be someone always talking about what they're going to achieve rather than actually putting in the work, I'm not going to end this post with a long list of goals for 2023. I will share one though, for accountability - I'd like to publish a blog post once a month.

It's really enjoyable to look back on the things I've worked on and track progress. Even more enjoyable for me is to read about other peoples progress. I get super inspired by blogs I read from other software developers or founders who share their thoughts and hope to inspire other people to take action towards their goals though my writing. If you'd like to follow along please do through social media or my newsletter!

I am grateful for all that I have achieved so far and can't wait to see what the future holds. Here's to an exciting and successful future!