Hello, I should have started this at the beginning of the year. But here I am starting on the 12th day of November. Thankfully, I take a lot of photos, and you know what they say, “pictures tell the whole story”. So give me a minute to take a look at my gallery.
Like previous years, 2022 was funny and challenging, but there's a lot of firsts.
Hello, again. It’s the 25th day of December, and I’ve been thinking: the beauty of a year-in-review article is captured in its informal tone, so I’d do that instead.
Even though I want to do this in a less formal way than my previous articles, I’d still give it some structure. That said, here’s 2022 in no particular order.
Work
Like any other person that loves what they do, I work hard, maybe too hard. I am a Software Engineer and a TikTok-er on weekends. Nah, I’m kidding. Just a Software Engineer for now. For context, a Software Engineer is anyone who writes code and attends meetings for money.
I did a lot of impactful stuff at work this year, I worked with some diverse teams in England, the US and India, all remotely. I enjoyed my time with all of these guys, asked questions about their culture and just tried to get as much exposure as I could.
What was the impactful stuff I worked on? I did a lot, but the one I am most proud of is Robin. Robin helps you build apps like Whatsapp or Telegram in about 5 minutes. Robin is growing and achieving numbers, and I am so proud that I am one of the reasons it exists in the first place.
Some other cool stuff I worked on at work were Kinly, Brassica and Tendar.
School
TL;DR - I got a BSc. Information Technology from Middlesex University, London (Nope, this one is not remote. I was blessed to study in the Dubai campus, live and direct)
Travelled to the UAE to complete my university education and took the risk of doing it while working. It was a struggle, so damn painful, really, really painful. God really helped me go through that ‘cos it felt like I was going under.
It was particularly painful because I didn’t just want to go through school, I wanted to give it a lot of my attention and excel academically, and I paid the price. Getting good sleep felt like a luxury, and I spent nights, mornings and afternoons in the study room, working and studying.
Thankfully, all those sleepless nights paid off, and I graduated with a First class. My dad can rest now, me too, lol.
Entrepreneurship
I’ve been writing code for almost five years now, and I wanted to do more. So, my silly response was to try entrepreneurship and boy, it’s been interesting than anything I have experienced in my profession, and I would explain why.
I started my entrepreneurship journey with Robin, sort of, I had to do some operations tasks and move a few things around business-wise. I attended a lot of meetings that I’d say were focused on business decisions rather than my usual product development meetings.
After Robin, I gained the confidence to start Revaise. The process that led to Revaise’s birth is a simple one, actually. I saw a problem with no existing solution, and I invited a friend to help me build one. This is me paraphrasing—the full story is here.
The sail on this entrepreneur-ship has been an interesting journey for me because I get to do a lot of things, not just write code. I get to make design and product decisions, and even do a little sales and marketing when the need arises.
This is not to say being an entrepreneur has been all fun and easy, not at all. I just love that I can’t predict what’s ahead.
Creative Writing
In 2022, I took writing seriously again. Sometime from 2018 to 2020, I used to write a lot of tech articles (find them here), but I paused when I got a full-time job.
This year, I resumed and went harder. This time, I’m taking a rather multi-faceted approach with a little emphasis on technical writing. I don’t earn money from writing just yet; I’m not keen on it. Like every other skill in life, I believe when you give out value you’d be rewarded. I’m learning mastery for now.
I know mastering creative writing is difficult. I have a few people around me, and on the internet to help me achieve that. For now, I’d keep on writing quality content and get as much feedback as I can where necessary.
A major feat I achieved in this category this year was being accepted as a contributor at FreeCodeCamp and becoming a 2022 Top Contributor. For me, that’s enough fuel for the new year.
Personal Development
To start with, I did a couple of mentorships and guidance this year — funny ‘cos na all of us dey grow together, but if you trust me, I should trust me too, right?
I also spoke publicly in two places this year, the first with over 7,000 people in audience and the other with about 500, interestingly, both events occurred in a month. It was an honour for me to speak to people in such a large volume, and I hope to do more of it in the new year.
Some other big achievements for me this year were reading books and playing the piano—I read three books this year, and they all were different genres; history, theology and business. That’s progress in my books (I promise, no pun intended).
I also learnt to play the piano. Playing the piano is so soothing.
Okay, I’d be honest, the truth is I might never be really good at playing the piano, but if I can make melodies with my voice and some basic chords on the piano, I think I’d be fine.
Finally, I did not take the gym seriously this year, and I probably would do the same next year. However, I’m hoping I can be more cautious about what I eat and my physical well-being in general.
Relationships
I met a lot of beautiful souls last year, particularly in school, work and church, maybe only those. My social sphere in 2022 was quite small because I had a lot to do. I’m pretty confident that 2023 would be significantly different (if the cost of transportation drops in the new year).
The little friends I had really made all the difference.
Finally, for a relationship with a significant other, as you would have guessed, I am without a significant other. With all the plans in front of me, it’s somewhat daunting to try dating. I no dey rule am out sha. My hands and eyes are open.
Faith
Save the best for the last? Yes, please.
I try to make sure that everything I do stems from my faith and beliefs, and if you are one that talks to me frequently, the realization should not be far-fetched.
I set a lot of goals for the new year. Obviously, you can’t be too close to God, so I wanted to be closer—spend more time in His word, pray more and just love God more.
Unfortunately, as committed as I might have sounded in the penultimate paragraphs, I did not hit my targets as much as I should have. I’m blaming it on the overtime hours I, intentionally, spent working for no just cause.
I’m really hopeful for 2023. I will have to make a lot of sacrifices, a lot more than I made this year, and I am ready for them.
Conclusion
Well, this was easier than I thought. An article takes me a minimum of three weeks for compilation and research, but I compiled this in a night. I hope this teaches you to always go the informal route and speak from the heart.
If you sincerely read this far, you probably like me so much, or I am a really good writer; whichever it is, feel free to fuel my ego via email. I’d need it for possible imposter syndrome attacks in the new year.
Thank you so much!