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Reflecting on 2024

·4 mins

As we step into 2025, reflecting on the past year feels essential. 2024 was monumental for me, arguably more eventful than the previous five years combined, which included my college life.

I experienced significant growth in my faith throughout the year. Although I had previously accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I formally got baptized at the start of the year, marking a significant step in my faith journey. I also improved my habits around praying and reading the Bible, making time daily to pray and read scripture as well as keeping a prayer list so I remember everything I want to pray for. I also got even more connected into my church community through events, small groups, volunteering, and fellowship/friendships. I concluded the year by going on a mission trip to Cuba, which was a life-changing experience. It was also a big leap of faith for me, as I had never been on a mission trip, had never been outside the United States, and had never even been on an airplane before. But the Lord called me to go, and I’m very glad I did, and I hope I get to go again in the future.

I experienced a lot of personal growth. I started the year by getting my own apartment, my first time living on my own for an extended period of time (i.e., not living with roommates or family). I also started the year changing jobs, where I primarily worked remotely and was the only person in my role at the company. I adopted my dog Maya, marking the start of my journey as a pet parent. I experienced some losses for the first time as well, including my first layoff from a job and my first time experiencing the loss of a close family member with the passing of my grandpa Ron. These events have helped me grow into the man I am now, having fortified my character and faith.

Beyond these pivotal experiences, I also saw growth in other areas like relationships & friendships, learning new skills, fitness & nutrition, and other areas.

Overall, although not every moment has been great, this has been a fantastic year of growth for me, and I feel like a much different person than I was at the beginning. Here’s to a year of continued growth, purpose, and faith in 2025.

I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions, often seeing them as unattainable or too rigid. Instead, I like to set broad goals for personal growth:

  • Learn to say no more often. I’m someone who is naturally very curious (leading to having lots of hobbies, interests, sideprojects, etc.), entrepreneurial (often working on my sidebusiness), enjoys being helpful (so I almost always try to help when I can), and am blessed to have many friend groups and communities (i.e., often doing lots of social activities). That is to say, I’m usually very, very busy. My biggest goal for 2025 is better time management, and in particular, learning to say no more often and prioritize my time better between the things I say yes to.

  • Get out of my comfort zone more often. I’m a natural introvert, which results in not wanting to do things that are outside my comfort zone (things like public speaking, being in large crowds, going to events where I don’t know many people, etc.). I’ve grown a lot in this area over the years, but I still have a lot to go.

    • During my recent mission trip to Cuba, one of the things I felt the Lord tell me is to use my voice more and with purpose. Again, this goes against my introverted nature, but I do think it’s the next big step for me, though it’s certainly a leap of faith. I’m starting on this goal by co-leading a young adults small group at my church. It’s open to all, and we’d love to have you: Group A11 at 4C, Wednesday evenings starting Jan. 29!

  • Be more disciplined. While I’m generally disciplined, I struggle with maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, especially as a natural night owl. I’ve started doing daily bible study & workout at 6am with some of my church friends (shout out Daniel and Caleb), which I hope holds me accountable to following my 9pm–5am sleep schedule.