On Turning 25

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear friend,
Happy Birthday to you!
May your day be filled with joy, laughter, and all the things that make you happiest. Enjoy your special day! - ChatGPT

I'm glad to be turning 25. The past few years have been humbling, maturing, and positive contributors to my overall well being. Put simply, I'm lucky.

24 was my last highly composite number for a while - 25, similarly, for squares. I've already addressed most of my contemplations in my 2023 reflections post, so there is not nearly as much to say here.

I think I spent too much time in the past year trying to "build". I felt (feel) weighed down by the corporate lifestyle and writing software in my free time was my way to cope with this quarter-life crisis. Looking back, one project stands out to me - an exception to the "building" obsession: dictionary.util.fyi (writeup here)

I really liked building a small, bespoke piece of software for one person. I had no goals to monetize - I just made something that I knew one person would get a kick out of. I want to do more things like this this year. This project felt separate from the other ones for this reason. I want to double down on this idea.

Like I mentioned in my annual reflection:

I want to focus on creating things that have no goal other than to make something I find beautiful.

This might be code, this might be writing, it might just be savoring beautiful experiences with people.

some things i would like to do this year

• go to london
• go to tokyo
• make some programming + ai + art project
• read some good books

I feel a lot more timid than I did when I was 20. This is true, for better or for worse.