Lev Lazinskiy

Looking Back on 2017

2017 was a challenging year for our society. The political climate in the United States is hostile, uncertainly clouds the future, and in many ways it felt like we took several steps back as a nation. Luckily there are glimmers of hope and I look forward to seeing what 2018 brings us. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on all of the things that happened to me this year.

I continued my journey to the state capitals as a part of my Tralev project. By far the most memorable trip was visiting Honolulu with my family. I slowed down a bit toward the end of the year for various reasons but I look forward to continuing this project in the new year.

My writing took a turn for the better. I was re-reading “On Writing Well” during my trip to Boise and witnessed a local author speaking about his own writing. I was so moved by his speech that I made a laundry list of writing goals for myself. Although I did not accomplish all of my goals I have continue to write consistently and have been lucky enough to join a writing club in San Francisco. I look forward to really taking my writing to the next level in 2018.

I started a new job at the end of the year at LaunchDarkly. Working at CircleCI was honestly the best job that I have ever had. I am so grateful to everyone in that company that made my time there rewarding and special. LaunchDarkly is a small company with big plans for 2018. I can’t wait to be a part of those plans and watch the company grow over the next year.

I traveled to Uzbekistan for my brothers wedding. It was an amazing experience full of amazing people, delicious food, and a wonderful culture. I am so happy to see that my brother found love and I wish nothing but the best for him and his wife. I hope that in 2018 we will see more of each other and maybe even have a new nephew or niece? :)

I continued my relationship with Aosheng, we have been on many adventures together and we are starting off 2018 on an exciting note by traveling to China during the second week of January.

I began taking some classes at UC Berkeley Extension and have been really inspired by the community of professionals doing continuing education. I look forward to taking even more courses in 2018.

I started a handful of coding projects, gave up on more, rekindled others. Still searching for the next big idea, but having a great time along the way. I also set a goal to become a Python Core Developer. I didn’t reach it this year, but I hope to make some significant progress toward this goal in 2018.

I started going to more meetups toward the end of the year. It has been great to meet all sorts of new people doing exciting things. I look forward to continuing to be a part of the local tech community and perhaps even start giving talks of my own at various meetups around town.

All in all, 2017 was a great year. My main goal for 2018 is to successfully turn 30. In addition I want to write more, code more, listen more, read more, and travel just enough. ;) I am wishing everyone a very Happy New Year. I hope that in 2018 all of your dreams come true.