Goodbye 2018, Hello 2019: A Year in Review

In the few years since I started working, time seems to fly by faster. In the blink of an eye, 2018 has come to an end. During this period, I set some small goals, some of which were completed while others were not. I am writing this article to summarize my 2018. If I had to summarize it in one sentence, it would be: "There was bitterness and sweetness, gains and losses, and both effort and reward."

Work

From July 2015 to now, I have been at Western Digital for nearly four years. I have met many friends who have given me great help at work. I have grown from a newbie to a novice, learning a lot of new knowledge. I would like to express my gratitude here.

The standard 8-hour workday is not long, but it can still bring fatigue and discomfort. Especially when facing unreasonable customers, I feel tired and impatient. The passion and patience from that year are gradually fading, which might be an ominous sign.

Learning

1. Driven by interest in 2018, I worked on several open-source projects. This might be the year I wrote the most code, spending most of my spare time on PHP. Although I developed several small PHP projects, they were all personal developments. Many aspects were imperfect and non-standard, leading to slow progress. Much of the knowledge remained on the surface and was not deep.
2. I signed up for driving school in the first half of the year. Due to some matters and my own laziness, I am still stuck at Subject 2.

Life

In 2018, I completed two major life events:

1. After a 3-year, 6-month, and 17-day love marathon, on October 8, 2018, a memorable day, she officially became my wife. We both know how difficult this was. Thank you for accompanying me all the way, and I feel particularly lucky.
2. As a child from a rural area, I found it increasingly difficult to put down roots in this city by relying solely on my own efforts. The incomprehensible housing prices and economic situation made me very confused and lost. Fortunately, with the help of my parents, relatives, and friends, I finally chose to buy a house in Chengdu. However, this also left me with debt. I hope the future days will get better and better.

What to do in 2019?

1. Care more about my family.
2. Strengthen physical exercise.
3. Maintain existing open-source projects (ImgURL, Zdir, IPinfo, CCAA).
4. Deepen my learning of PHP and learn a new language (such as Python).
5. Get my driver's license in the first half of the year.
6. Read more than 5 books (not limited to technical books).
7. Learn English.

Finally

I sincerely thank the relatives, friends, and colleagues around me for their help and care. I hope everyone has a prosperous year in 2019, with smooth careers and happy families.