I'm not usually one for writing big summaries of the year but this year was a special one for me - despite the pandemic.
My professional life
I am proud to say I have managed to change careers this year! In January I started off with Northcoders' coding bootcamp and in May I landed my very first Software Developer job at BankiFi - entirely remotely. It's a bit of a bummer it's still 100% remote but I'm looking forward to visiting the office at some point in the new year and to finally get to spend some time with my colleagues.
I attended the "Women In Tech Career Summit" online conference in July - as a speaker! I count this as a huge achievement because I am terrified of public speaking and if it wasn't for the lockdown, I don't think I would have said yes. But it was amazing and I'm really grateful to have been given the opportunity.
In September I started volunteering at Code Your Future - a coding school for refugees - where I got the opportunity to help a graduate project team and see them through their graduation. I'm looking forward to continuing on this journey in the next year, hopefully in person.
And finally, I completed Harvard's CS50x introduction to computer science online course just a day ago.
Changing careers was the best decision I have made for a while and I have loved every second of the training, starting my first job and getting involved with all sorts of related activities. I'm really looking forward to learning and progressing further in the new year.
My personal life
We got a dog! Rocket is a black working cocker spaniel who makes us laugh every day. I have never thought I could have so much love for an animal but he's just the most adorable little pup and I can't even remember what life was like without him. We spent over a year debating whether to get a dog or not but having to work from home gave us the opportunity to be able to look after him properly and to put enough time in his training so that when we will be allowed to go back to work, he will be just fine.
Lockdown of course was never going to be great and it definitely took its toll on my social life and occasionally my mental health but considering everything I think I've done pretty well. Being locked up in a house 24/7 with just one person when usually I would be reasonably sociable was always going to be hard but we did well and we managed to support each other with our daily struggles. We managed to squeeze in a couple of camping holidays in the summer and countless dog walks and movie nights. It's not climbing El Teide or cycling in Thailand but still some quality time spent.
There are a good few things I'm very grateful for in lockdown though: working from home gave me so much extra time that I'm really glad I managed to use wisely. I worked out how to use more than one setting on the washing machine and learnt that the world doesn't end if I go a day without showering or even changing out of pyjamas.
On a more serious note, I can't wait to be able to socialise again or going one step further: travel(!) but I really don't think I could have made more out of this year.
Thanks everyone who has been a part of it in any way, all the old friends who stayed in my life and all the new ones I met this year - you know who you are.
I wish you all the very best for the new year! 🥳
Cover Photo Credit: Ava Sol
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