2018, for me, was a year of many firsts. To be frank, I was uncharacteristically active overall — so much so that I startled myself at multiple times throughout the year with the liveliness. I possessed heaps of clarity in terms of what I was working on, both within and outside of the profession.

Sure, if I look outward, 2018 has left the world in complete disarray. There is chaos, unclarity all around. There is an inconspicuous tension building up in every part of the world. A lack of trust, faith in one another. In humanity.

2018 may very well be remembered as the year when the word true” lost all its meaning. A fight to drum up the perception that my truth is the only truth made one insensitive of everything that was being said by anyone.

And it did get tiring. As Scaachi Koul rightly said, 2018 wore us all the hell out” (h/t Sameer Vasta). I empathise with her when she says

I am usually energized by arguing, by getting aggressive, by putting a name or a face to an enemy, online or otherwise. Not this year.

But then I have decided to remember 2018 for the goods it brought me personally.

I expressed. Kept churning up more longer posts and lots and lots of shorter microposts.

I captured. Snapped a significant part of my life as pictures. Posted them, shared them more.

I learnt. Understood. And got enamoured by IndieWeb.

I developed. Worked on so many new projects - many found useful even by few others.

I experimented. Recorded a first podcast episode. Started a new individual podcast.

Unlike me, I gave up a lot lesser in 2018. Almost everything I noticed above was taken to completion.

And most importantly, I lived. Quality time with people closest to me. Family reunions. Getaways. Holidays. Making new friends, in real and digital life.

Yep. I will remember 2018 as a year of being satisfied. And being alive. It is only fair to welcome 2019 with a clean, untidy slate.