Things I did in the last year that had nothing to do with the internet.
Anytime anyone asks me anything about 2025, I give them the spiel, "Yeah I didn't do much other than get engaged, get married and watch my brother get engaged and married." I say this because it really did feel like that. Most of my headspace was occupied by silk manufacturing processes, gold prices, and makeup artists, not to mention the crushing identity shift that comes with the Instagram algorithm constantly recommending only tradwife content. But objectively, life did happen. The wedding was just one day of the year, so what are the highlights of the rest of it?
I'm gonna start with the most spiritually significant event: I watched Wolf Alice live. Wolf Alice is a band I have been listening to since I was 14 (a literal baby). Watching them live was in the making for 12 years. Tears were shed.
I also went to 18 sessions of therapy. Yes, this is less spiritually significant than Wolf Alice. I learnt a lot about sitting with anxiety and that my own brain can be a safe space if I allow it to be. People are complex, man.
I also actually went to the doctor for my scoliosis for the first time after my initial diagnosis in high school. I've just been winging it so far. I went to a spine specialist, and he reaffirmed that I did indeed have scoliosis, but I also got diagnosed with a genetic connective tissue disorder which was oddly validating (so it ISN'T my fault if I'm exhausted all the time). But as a part of this whole ordeal I also had to get an MRI which is in my top 5 most terrifying experiences ever. What do you mean you're gonna put me in a white metal coffin and NOT let me take deep breaths for 10 minutes, all while magnets powerful enough to rip my piercings out are singing their electronica death music around me? No, thank you. Thankfully I lived to tell the tale and admittedly the way MRIs work is insanely cool. I should write a separate blogpost about this.
I also had a surprisingly good year with wearing different hats at work. I gave my first talk at a open source conference (that wasn't hosted by Nextcloud), at All Things Open in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was quite well-received even though I was one of only 3 speakers talking about design at a conference where there were over 150 speakers talking about tech and governance. The audience had interesting questions, they laughed at my dumb jokes, all was well. I also met one of my favourite contributors to work with, Josh Richards, and he is just as nice in-person as he in online. This was 2 weeks after my first time emceeing at the Nextcloud community conference. Emceeing comes much more naturally to me than other ways I've been on stage at the conference. I would like one conference where I'm not an stage though. Fingers crossed.
I'm sure more happened last year but the timer on Ankur's laptop is running out. My perception of 2025 was that it was an incredibly stressful year for me, but ironically most of came from the time I spent online. I spent most of it telling myself that 2025 is a lost cause, 2026 is gonna be my year (🤙🏽). But I think I had plenty to celebrate then and plenty to celebrate now.
This blog was written as a part of IndieWebClub #25