It’s 12am, I’m listening to gratitude by annendlessocean and just sitting here thinking about how grateful I am to have made it to the last month of the year. Because honestly, this year? It was a roller coaster. A messy, chaotic, overwhelming, beautiful roller coaster.

I crashed out plenty of times, but somehow, I’m still standing. And for that, I’m incredibly grateful to God; for strength, for endurance, for pulling me through every hard moment, and for giving me reasons to smile in between.

I went through really tough times this year, moments that forced me to grow and stretch in ways I didn’t expect. But I also had beautiful, fun moments with my friends the kind that reminded me that life can still be sweet even when everything is shaking.

Somewhere along the line, I became what I like to call “ridiculously audacious”. I put myself out there more. I stepped outside my comfort zone. I started working on my public speaking, still not where I want to be, but honestly, the baby steps are adding up. I made decisions that scared me, but I made them anyway. I took risks.

One of the wildest things that happened was at a conference; I networked so boldly that I literally got a job on the spot. If you told 2024 me that this would happen, she would have laughed and walked away.

This year stretched me academically too. By this time a decade ago, I was in my first year of high school and now i’m done with university. I earned over fifteen certifications, worked on three research papers, and got an A in my final-year project. I graduated with a 4.80 CGPA even with everything life was throwing at me. I attended about ten conferences, read twenty-five books, tried out new foods, and took on major leadership roles: General Secretary of my department, Ticket Lead for a fintech conference, Content Co-lead for Google Developer Groups (GDG) Bowen, and more. I made new friends. I even bought myself two bone straight wigs and honestly, that is a real milestone for me.

I started going to the gym. I completed two paid internships. I cried a lot. I worked on my LinkedIn presence. I posted more content on social media. I bought shares in three different companies. I began exploring the Web3 space. I went out more than usual, which is huge because anyone who knows me knows I used to be a professional homebody. And I became a creator on Paragraph, a Web3 writing platform, which still feels surreal.

So even though I didn’t accomplish every single thing I wanted to do this year, I achieved an unbelievable amount. I grew in ways I didn’t expect. I learned, unlearned, failed, tried again, and somehow found myself becoming a stronger, softer, more confident version of me.

I’m grateful for all of it - the good, the hard, the quiet, the loud, the unexpected. Gratitude really is the word.

It’s 12am, I’m listening to gratitude by annendlessocean and just sitting here thinking about how grateful I am to have made it to the last month of the year. Because honestly, this year? It was a roller coaster. A messy, chaotic, overwhelming, beautiful roller coaster.

I crashed out plenty of times, but somehow, I’m still standing. And for that, I’m incredibly grateful to God; for strength, for endurance, for pulling me through every hard moment, and for giving me reasons to smile in between.

I went through really tough times this year, moments that forced me to grow and stretch in ways I didn’t expect. But I also had beautiful, fun moments with my friends the kind that reminded me that life can still be sweet even when everything is shaking.

Somewhere along the line, I became what I like to call “ridiculously audacious”. I put myself out there more. I stepped outside my comfort zone. I started working on my public speaking, still not where I want to be, but honestly, the baby steps are adding up. I made decisions that scared me, but I made them anyway. I took risks.

One of the wildest things that happened was at a conference; I networked so boldly that I literally got a job on the spot. If you told 2024 me that this would happen, she would have laughed and walked away.

This year stretched me academically too. By this time a decade ago, I was in my first year of high school and now i’m done with university. I earned over fifteen certifications, worked on three research papers, and got an A in my final-year project. I graduated with a 4.80 CGPA even with everything life was throwing at me. I attended about ten conferences, read twenty-five books, tried out new foods, and took on major leadership roles: General Secretary of my department, Ticket Lead for a fintech conference, Content Co-lead for Google Developer Groups (GDG) Bowen, and more. I made new friends. I even bought myself two bone straight wigs and honestly, that is a real milestone for me.

I started going to the gym. I completed two paid internships. I cried a lot. I worked on my LinkedIn presence. I posted more content on social media. I bought shares in three different companies. I began exploring the Web3 space. I went out more than usual, which is huge because anyone who knows me knows I used to be a professional homebody. And I became a creator on Paragraph, a Web3 writing platform, which still feels surreal.

So even though I didn’t accomplish every single thing I wanted to do this year, I achieved an unbelievable amount. I grew in ways I didn’t expect. I learned, unlearned, failed, tried again, and somehow found myself becoming a stronger, softer, more confident version of me.

I’m grateful for all of it - the good, the hard, the quiet, the loud, the unexpected. Gratitude really is the word.