2024, How Beautiful You Were
Hello 👋
It’s that time of year again - time for looking back and thinking about what happened this year. I’m sitting at my computer to write about my year. There’s a dog barking outside, and though it’s a bit distracting, I’ll manage. I’ve got my headphones on with some nice background music playing, so let’s get started, Ender.
If you haven’t read my writings (Turkish) from previous years, you can access them below
Looking back at a whole year, I remember the big events easily, but the small details are harder to recall. To help me remember, I use my iPhone’s Photos app. It shows me pictures from each month and day of the year. Instead of just listing what happened each month, I want to tell my story in a more interesting way.
The biggest change in my life this year was getting married. My relationship from last year became official, and now I’m living the life I’ve always wanted. Some people say if you want something enough, it will happen. But I think it’s more about making the right choices that led me to this happy life.
I really love my hometown. When I lived in Istanbul before 2020, I had this dream: to move back home, live in a house with a garden, and work for an international company from home. I kept putting it off, wondering if I’d find the right person to share this life with. But this year, everything worked out perfectly. My spouse and I now live this dream life together. We’re both from the same area, close to our families. 2024 made this dream come true, and it’s made me really happy.
Since this is quite personal, I’ll keep it brief in this blog post. I mentioned it first because it’s been the biggest and best change in my life. Now, let me talk about other things. In my work life, not much changed from 2023, but there are some important things to mention.
I really enjoy working at Teamtailor. We did great work in 2024. My team focused on making things better for our customers and making it easier for new customers to start using our service. We got better at working with other teams and made our work processes smoother. We’ll keep working on these improvements in 2025. I also worked on being a better communicator at work. In 2024, I focused on communicating more clearly with my colleagues to get work done more efficiently. While we always try to use our time well, good communication is just as important to avoid misunderstandings. I kept these things in mind throughout 2024 and worked more carefully because of it.
In 2024, I spent a lot of time writing Ruby code. The highlight of my year was meeting Matz, who created Ruby. I went to two Ruby conferences - one in Sofia and one in Sarajevo. The Sarajevo conference, called Euruko, was really special because it’s Europe’s biggest Ruby event. It was even better because many of my friends from Turkey were there too. You can read about my experience here. My first international conference was Balkan Ruby in Sofia, where I also met lots of Turkish developers. It was great fun! You can read about that here.
2024 was a good year for my career. I tried to speak at these international events, and while my talks weren’t accepted, I learned from the experience. Back in Turkey, I gave four presentations, both online and in-person. It felt great to be back on stage speaking to people face-to-face. I also taught a Ruby on Rails Bootcamp. Though it was hard work, I enjoyed helping new developers learn Ruby. I even gave my first talk about something related to, but not exactly about, Ruby. Trying new things can be scary but exciting - I recommend it!
I traveled to several places this year. I visited Sweden again, and it was extra special this time because I went with someone I love. Most of my other trips were to Balkan countries. I really enjoy experiencing different cultures, and I hope to visit more countries in 2025.
I tried some new things this year. For the first time, I took naps on the beach - something I never thought I’d do! I also got back into music, playing drums with friends in a studio. It was fun to play with others after doing solo practice for so long. I’ve also been exercising regularly for the past three months, which is new for me. Maybe if I eat better, I’ll even get some abs showing! 😛
We had some sad moments too. We lost my cousin, Kadir late in the year. It happened suddenly and way too soon. Losing family members is always hard, and it makes us hold our loved ones closer. It reminds us that we never know what tomorrow brings, so we should appreciate our loved ones while we can.
Looking ahead to 2025, I want to be better at remembering things by keeping a diary. I plan to write more, read more, exercise more, and spend more time with people I care about. I also want to improve my English and Swedish.
Each year, I pick one word to describe it. This year, I chose DISCOVERY because I spent a lot of time exploring new things and adapting to changes.
Life goes by quickly, and we all know it will end someday. We can’t change yesterday, and tomorrow isn’t here yet. So let’s enjoy today. I hope 2025 brings you joy and peace. Remember to take care of yourself while showing love to nature and others.
Life passes very quickly and whatever we do, it will end one day. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow hasn’t come yet. There’s only today, so let yourself enjoy it. May 2025 bring you more beauty and peace. Continue to live by loving nature and people, without forgetting yourself first.
Photo by Kajetan Sumila on Unsplash