CHALK

2024 in Review

12/16/2024

Overview

A lot happened this year—most of it wasn’t great, and I can attest to that (close to crashing out, lol). No major breakthroughs, but plenty of mistakes that I need to understand closely. If they happen again, I want to know exactly how to handle them.

This year made me realize that everything is taken for granted. You can’t become something overnight. Most importantly, you will fail at everything on your first try. So, let’s talk about mistakes.

Mistakes

I really thought you could get good at something quickly or within a self-imposed timeframe. But no, it was a harsh realization for me because the reality is I need to focus on one thing and get good with it before jumping to another thing that interest me. But hey at least I got to know that it really takes time and it’s okay not to be like the other people who can learn fast because eventually we can be like that too one day.

Financial Side

Oh bad… Really bad. I’m embarrassed to talk about it but it’s really bad. That said, I’ve figured out what needs to be done to build proper cash flow while balancing college life. Sooner or later, I need more purchasing power. Ending my broke arc is my main focus because I’m so sick of it. It’s like a disease—constantly calculating and thiking how to earn a certain amount of money, only to realize it’s never enough or you will never reach it.

Career

Nothing particularly remarkable happened here, but I still want to acknowledge my efforts and hard work. My roadmap for blockchain security is nearly done, which has been solidifying my knowledge. One surprising thing is that there’s a lot of gray areas to explore—very similar to traditional cybersecurity back in the late 1980s to early 2000s.

Now, I’m stuck between two paths:

  • Stable path: Traditional cybersecurity
  • Risky path: Web3 cybersecurity

I really want to take a shot at the risky one because I still have time to experiment. If it doesn’t work out, I’m confident I’ll do well in traditional cybersecurity since I’m studying it as well. Tip here! Study what genuinely interests you and give it your all. I spread myself too thin this year, ending up “knowledgeable but not proficient”—lacking real-world application.

On a brighter note, I launched an illustration agency. I’m excited to see it take off because I believe in the output we produce. Seeing AI art being used for business is just depressing. Sure, it’s fun for personal use or school projects (when allowed), but for business? Hire someone who can solve your visual communication problems, it’s just a better investment long-term.

Health

I’ve managed to stay physically fit, but I wish I could push for a better physique. Access to a gym might finally be feasible next year, so I’m optimistic.

My biggest issue is eating habits. I rely heavily on canned food, which isn’t good. Eating healthy is expensive, and I need something cheap and fast. I’ll try to improve my diet because I’m genuinely concerned about my kidneys because our family has a genetic history of kidney disease.

Books, Movies and Shows

Most of my reading was technical this year, but I snuck in some fiction too:

To be honest I need to make a letterboxd account to track the movies I’m watching because I’m sure that there are more than I listed here:

About the shows, my taste is really weird but I enjoy the following:

Overall, I enjoyed what I’ve consumed this year! They are all fantastic, it’s funny that I still have the time to do these things so I’m really grateful.

What’s Next (2025)?

I hope 2025 favors the plans I’m working toward, but as always, it’s up to me to put in the work.

  • Study and learn every day—but more importantly, apply what I learn so it doesn’t just sit stagnant in my brain.
  • Explore things that matter and note anything that could help me long-term or short-term.
  • Improve my finances. I’m determined to end the broke arc.
  • Find a living I genuinely enjoy—this is the big goal

I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I hope you had a great year!