As the year comes to a close, it marks 4 years that I gave myself to coding full-time and it's time to reflect on the events this year. I struggled a bit coming up with a title for this article. I couldn't ask for a better year and I'm more than happy to share my journey through this year.

So many thoughts are flooding my head as I write this. I've been overwhelmed at times and felt frustrated, happy, and everything in between. But these are the major events I'm allowed to share. 2023 is indeed a year of liberty for most.

Level Up 🔝

My employment contract at Zummit Africa was reviewed and I got a raise in both post and ROI. It was a sweet development. The input also doubled and I killed it. Positively. But you can't get too comfortable.

Discontinued 🙅🏿‍♂️

I handed in my resignation at Zummit Africa on November 15th. It was a great ride since April 2022. But as they say, even good things must come to an end. Zummit will always have a special place in my heart; I had the freedom to roam, explore, make decisions, and lead others. I didn't have a clear plan of what I was going to do but it's time to move on. And I'm glad I did.

Offers 🫴

Going indie was my intention, but I've gotten 2 offers for full-time work and another for a contract as a full-stack developer. I'm doing well as an indie developer; I am currently working on two projects, no slacks. I'm considering taking up the contract but, uhm, we'll see how it goes.

New Languages 💻

I've started learning C# and it is appealing to me. I did a little thing with ASP.NET for a project and I liked it. I also picked up Golang but I don't think I want to stick with it. I think I'll explore C# more and then see what Rust has to offer. And I'll try to get better at JavaScript and TypeScript.

Lessons ⚠️

I learnt a lot of things this year. And there are a million and one things I can't include here. I had plans to leave Nigeria next year to study Software Engineering in one of the Nordic countries. But I can't for the next 2 or 3 years. And for good reasons. So many ups and a few downs, as there should be. I can't say too much but I'll leave you with these few nuggets:

Open your eyes. Know when to settle, and when to negotiate.
Keep levelling up. Nobody is up there, don't idolise anyone.
You can hate your place of work but you have to love your work.
Don't work for free unless there's a bigger incentive which you're sure is present.
Don't steal people's work.
Don't undervalue or overestimate yourself.
Most of all keep believing in YOU.

Hopefully, next year would be better. I have plans to immerse myself in DSA, C# and lots of programming. I'll see you on the other side.

Reflections