As the year comes to a close, it marks 4 years that I gave myself to coding full-time and it's time to reflect on the events this year. I struggled a bit coming up with a title for this article. I couldn't ask for a better year and I'm more than happy to share my journey through this year.

So many thoughts are flooding my head as I write this. I've been overwhelmed at times and felt frustrated, happy, and everything in between. But these are the major events I'm allowed to share. 2023 is indeed a year of liberty for most.

Level Up 🔝

My employment contract at Zummit Africa was reviewed and I got a raise in both post and ROI. It was a sweet development. The input also doubled and I killed it. Positively. But you can't get too comfortable.

Discontinued 🙅🏿‍♂️

I handed in my resignation at Zummit Africa on November 15th. It was a great ride since April 2022. But as they say, even good things must come to an end. Zummit will always have a special place in my heart; I had the freedom to roam, explore, make decisions, and lead others. I didn't have a clear plan of what I was going to do but it's time to move on. And I'm glad I did.

Offers 🫴

Going indie was my intention, but I've gotten 2 offers for full-time work and another for a contract as a full-stack developer. I'm doing well as an indie developer; I am currently working on two projects, no slacks. I'm considering taking up the contract but, uhm, we'll see how it goes.

New Languages 💻

I've started learning C# and it is appealing to me. I did a little thing with ASP.NET for a project and I liked it. I also picked up Golang but I don't think I want to stick with it. I think I'll explore C# more and then see what Rust has to offer. And I'll try to get better at JavaScript and TypeScript.

Lessons ⚠️

I learnt a lot of things this year. And there are a million and one things I can't include here. I had plans to leave Nigeria next year to study Software Engineering in one of the Nordic countries. But I can't for the next 2 or 3 years. And for good reasons. So many ups and a few downs, as there should be. I can't say too much but I'll leave you with these few nuggets:

• Open your eyes. Know when to settle, and when to negotiate.

• Keep levelling up. Nobody is up there, don't idolise anyone.

• You can hate your place of work but you have to love your work.

• Don't work for free unless there's a bigger incentive which you're sure is present.

• Don't steal people's work.

• Don't undervalue or overestimate yourself.

• Most of all keep believing in YOU.

Hopefully, next year would be better. I have plans to immerse myself in DSA, C# and lots of programming. I'll see you on the other side.