This is a submission for the 2025 New Year Writing challenge: Retro’ing and Debugging 2024.

The last 10 years of my life have been bookended by failure. In order to accurately recount what my 2024 was like, I need to go back to 2014 first. Just for a minute. In 2014, I experienced my biggest professional failure to date. Everything I had spent years toward fell apart, and I suddenly had no idea what I was going to do with my life. This career failure sent me spiraling in fear. I was terrified of failing again. Over the next several years, this fear of failure manifested as perfectionism. It was perfectionism in the sense that I avoided taking on anything I wasn't certain I'd excel at.

Fast forward to 2024.

This time last year, I was learning the basics of JavaScript and React. Up until this point, I was having an easy time on my coding journey. I was enjoying building websites with HTML & CSS. I was excited to expand my skills. Can you see where this is going? 😂 JavaScript was a reality check for me. This was the first time in years I had attempted to do something without knowing if I'd be good at it. But, I persevered, and completed the bootcamp. Then the job search began. And that's pretty much how my entire year went: applying for jobs and trying to improve my JavaScript prowess.

How did it go?

I still haven't landed a job in tech. Obviously, the job market in 2024 was tough. I couldn't seem to find many entry level/junior developer roles. After 50+ applications, I ended the year with a single positive response. That response led me to my first coding assessment, which I bombed, to be honest. Zero interviews. Much discouragement. I closed 2024 re-evaluating my decision to break into tech. I admitted to myself that I don't find as much joy in coding as other developers seem to have. I struggle to come up with ideas for projects to build and don't have the same excitement as I've heard expressed by others.

However, I don't believe I spent the last year wasting my time. I completed Skillcrush's Front End Developer track, started the Odin Project's Full Stack JavaScript path, launched my portfolio website, built 16 projects, joined the LinkedIn community, and began the job search for my first role in tech. Additionally, I began exploring other areas of tech such as UI/UX design and Wordpress development. Most importantly, I faced my fear of failure and learned some valuable lessons.

What did I learn?

I learned that failure is an inevitable part of the process. Everyone starts at the beginning when it comes to learning something new. But learning doesn't equate to failing. Not trying is failing. As we've all probably heard before, you learn more from your failures than from your successes.

I also learned that another part of the process is consistency. Is not trying is failing, then to win, you have to keep trying. You have to continue to show up and put in the work. Stick with your lessons. Keep working on your projects. Don't stop posting on LinkedIn. Apply to jobs. It's not only the amount of effort that matters; it's the regular input of effort that makes the biggest impact.

Finally, perhaps most significantly, I learned that vulnerability fosters community. As I began making LinkedIn connections, I noticed when I read others' posts about their journeys, it encouraged me to share mine. Posts about job searching, or what new skill or programming language someone was learning, made me feel less alone. Especially during those times of discouragement. I realized that as we put ourselves out there in vulnerability, it invites others to do the same. That's where community is found.

To sum up my 2024, I will no longer use the word failure. It was a year of learning, growth, and beginning. My hope for 2025 (other than securing my first tech role) is to grow in consistency, community, and competency.

What are the lessons you learned last year? What do you want to characterize your 2025?