2019 in Review: A year of a positive turning point

2019 was unequivocally a good year. I contemplated whether I've got something worth writing about but one silent voice scolded me hardly for attempting to be ungrateful. Yes, I have a couple of things to be grateful for in retrospect.

Work

I walked into 2019 as a software engineer at Hotels.ng. Working at Hotels was an awesome experience, I worked with really smart folks and had the opportunity to work under a mentor that I hold in high esteem, Mark Essien.

In April, the quest for another dimension of growth drove me to join Andela. At Andela, I was engaged in immersive training, I was glad that the reason for joining them came to pass. I was enrolled in Lambda school, something I consider a rare privilege, thanks to Andela.

My training at Lambda school not only availed me the opportunity to build a formidable foundation as a software engineer but also gave me the opportunity to expand my network across the globe. I've worked with folks of various timezones and diverse backgrounds. This has helped me build strong confidence in diversity and remote work culture.

In September, there was a change in Andela's business policy that culminated in a lay-off. I got a mail which in summary made it known to me that my position in Andela had been made redundant, this didn't come as a surprise because having been in Andela for only about 6 months, I knew I was one of the targets of the lay-off.

Immediately I got the mail, I told myself that the Andela chapter was done and that I needed to move.
I quickly jumped on my laptop and submitted an application for the position of Team Lead at Lambda school. I was invited to interview the following day and got an acceptance mail the second day to resume the next week Monday.

My experience as a Team Lead at Lambda school has been both challenging and exciting. I have learned a skill that I need so much in my career as a software engineer, leadership.

Technical

2019 was fraught with lots of learning. At the start of the year, I could only boast of PHP/Laravel and was strictly a backend engineer. Now, Javascript has become one of my major stacks, both for frontend development and backend development. I can now assume the role of a frontend engineer if the need arises without feeling handicapped. I also learned a lot of technologies that I may not mention here.

Writing

I love to share new stuff I learn via writing. This year my writing skill improved. I also started writing on Dev.to thanks to Gift for her advice. I also built my own blog

Leadership

My role at Lambda is a leadership role. I learned what it takes to lead a team in practice. I learned that I needed something more than technical skills to lead a successful team. There were occasions I took decisions or acted in a manner that wasn't the best but I learned from the mistakes.

Finance

I was intentional about saving, I didn't save enough to buy Benz but I saved something at the least. There was an improvement in digits and currency. I got myself a workspace and a couple of other things that make work and life easier.

Social

I made a lot of good friends. Folks that are going to be one of the major stakeholders in the coming decade. I attended 2 off-site parties and a couple of hangouts with friends.

Health

I am most grateful to God for the gift of good health. I was never admitted to the hospital throughout the year except for check-up visits and a few cases of Malaria at some points. Yesterday I went for the last medical check-up for the year, did all manner of tests and the doctor looked at me, gave me a handshake and said, go home for all is well with you.

What didn't go well?

Of course, I don't mean to sing praises. There are many areas I should have done better especially in reading books. I bought 3 books this year but ended up not reading them. I started this year with relationships status returning null, now it returns undefined. My relationship with God would have been better.

What next?

I've set myself some targets and challenges for 2020. I hope to have a better by the year-end.