2020 was a peculiar year. But as time progresses, we have to keep learning and improving on our weaknesses. One way of doing this is reflecting on the year and making a review. In the spirit of reviews, here's mine.

First Quarter (January - March)

I began the first quarter filled with optimism. My 2020 goals centred around upskilling, networking and building amazing stuff. I had already participated in a hackathon (Hackmania) and attended a conference before the lockdowns were imposed. I planned on levelling up at 2x the speed during the lockdowns.

Second Quarter (April - June)

Deep into the lockdowns in the second quarter, I participated in several developer events such as

1. Internship at Essetlement Ltd
2. BuildForSDGs Cohort 1
3. HNG 7

My greatest lesson in the second quarter was to only participate in the number of things I could handle. I also learned that I don't focus on things I don't believe in.

Third Quarter (July - September)

I experienced the extremes of the year in the third quarter. The lockdowns were lifted. I decided to join a mechanic workshop which I'm still not sure why. My workshop experience lasted for just 30 days. Between July and August. I got my hands dirty with freelance development and writing. I faced the worst kind of depression. I lost faith in my software development ability due to

1. Not being able to deliver 2 projects
2. Not being able to finish anything

My greatest disappointment was forgetting to apply for Outreachy 😂. I was too psyched, thinking about making a reasonable application that I didn't make any. I probably didn't feel experienced enough to apply. My greatest achievement was earning my first internet money by writing for FaunaDB.

Fourth Quarter (October - December)

The fourth quarter was centred on healing and learning. I got over my depression in October and started writing again in November. In order to improve my blogging skills, I joined bloggingfordevs pro community and also published 1 blog post per day for 10 days straight. You can check a series I made during those 10 days here

I still feel mediocre for posting this here.

What I learned this year

1. Cloud concepts such as deployment, scaling, availability etc
2. Backend development using Node.js and PHP
3. Basics of Kiswahili and Deutsch. Let me try saying my name in both languages

   Deutsch: Mein Name ist Osinachi
   Kiswahili: Jina langu ni Osinachi
   

   😁

How I will be better

Like many other people, 2020 brought some unexpected challenges and opportunities. Here are some actionable steps I will take in 2021

1. Keep my consistency up by publishing at least 1 article every week.
2. Organize more real-world student-focussed events on Cloud Architecture and Data Engineering as part of my Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador duties.
3. Finish more things by wagering money and setting rewards (maybe get a Nintendo Switch as a reward).

Above all, learn to be flexible and adapt to situations. Due to the unpredictability of 2021, I will have to adapt to situations better. I pray Oluwa blesses my hustle. 😁

Thanks for reading. Adios ✌🏾🧡.

Credits

1. Article cover image and images on quarters by @rfaizal707 via Twenty20
2. Lightbulb idea image by @sitthiphong via Twenty20