Year in Review: 2024

If 2023 was the fresh start, 2024 was the grind. Head down, thesis-first, for most of the year — with just enough life around the edges to stay human. Here’s how it actually went.

School

The thesis. Lord, the thesis. I’m not going to pretend it was smooth — I struggled with it, a lot. By the second half of the year (semester four) it had taken over completely: all day, all week, and more than a few nights sleeping over in the thesis room because going home felt like a waste of momentum.

The wins that kept me going, though, were real:

• A class project got written up — published in a journal and presented at a conference.
• Part of my thesis was published in a Sinta 2 journal (UAD).

Seeing your name in print for the first time does something to you. It made the grind feel like it was building toward something.

Work & programs

Two facilitator roles this year, both around Google Career Certificates — IT Support:

• Google Career Certificates 2024 × Telkom — I helped teach Telkom employees through the IT Support course (three months).
• Digital Talent Scholarship × Google Career Certificates — the same course I once took as a participant, except this time I was the facilitator.

Going from student to the person at the front of the room is a strange, good feeling.

I also went back to Sorong to apply for CPNS — and got accepted with Pemda Kabupaten Sorong. Now I’m just waiting on the call. No idea when it comes.

Life

Between the thesis crunch and the trips home, the year had two speeds: buried, or recharging. I’ll admit one thing I’m not proud of — I started vaping this year. Don’t. That’s the whole review on that.

Travel

• Jogja, first time — a week over the semester break. Prambanan, Parangtritis, Malioboro, keliling the city by motorbike, and a stop at UGM. One of my favorite trips, full stop.
• BEKRAF/Baparekraf Dev Day Bandung 2024 — and later an invite back for the evaluation session, which came with some merch (TWS earbuds and bits).
• GDG Bandung 2024 — the DevFest habit continues.

Hobbies & games

Picked up badminton this year — my new favorite way to move. Learned Golang in my spare time just because it looked fun (it is). Still on Valorant, still Plat — no shame, no progress, ha. And I started a new show, Marathon — got through season one and I’m officially following it. The Steam year in review has the honest hours.

Gear

A good year for the desk. I won a tracer-study lottery from Ubaya and walked away with an Oppo A58. Then a proper refresh: AJAZZ AK82 MAX HE keyboard, IINNO X2V2 mouse, and an MSI G255F monitor. The setup finally feels like mine.

Carrying into 2025

• Finish. The. Thesis. No more excuses.
• Quit the vape. (Writing it here so I can’t pretend I didn’t.)
• Keep badminton and Golang alive through the crunch — they kept me sane.

2024 was the year I paid the price up front. Ended it the usual way, makan-makan with friends on New Year’s, tired but close to the finish line. 2025, let’s close this out.