I summarize 2023 (and most of 2022, for that matter) as I felt like I was punched in the face almost every day. It was a year of some real professional and personal disappointments, but I’m still standing. In fact, I found some personal and professional peace last fall that is still going strong.

Here’s a summary of the good and the bad:

2023: The good

• Spinning class kept me sane and an even more important part of my day after returning to live classes in my gym, which means I belong to a “community” again, something I hadn’t since before the pandemic.
• I was interviewed for a Wall Street Journal article about the growth of Ghost Jobs. It was a bucket list experience to be interviewed by WSJ; even though I still wish it was about another topic, it was still an experience.
• While I was skeptical at first, I found balance in keeping a gratitude journal.
• I got interviewed on French Television about the trend of Ghost Jobs which was another very unique experience.
• It was a good year for my health despite all the stress that the job market and freelancing put me under.
• Despite some professional low points, writing still makes me feel good.

2023: The bad

• The job market continued to be horrible and unforgiving, and eventually, I came to feel safer by spreading my bets as a freelancer and contractor after all the nonsense I had to experience as a job candidate.
• I came to reflect on resilience’s role in my childhood and adult life as two layoffs in twelve months tested even my mettle. I come from a family that prides itself on resilience, and even I found myself questioning can a person exhaust their resilience?
• Two layoffs in twelve months left me rather disenchanted with the IT industry.
• The tech industry seems irreparably broken to me after what I’ve seen and heard during the past few years.
• No vacation this year either means I’ll be priced out of Ocean City, MD, by the time I can afford to vacation again.
• Then again, it seems the entire country is broken.
• I learned some things about onboarding clients and the need to click with a client, which is something I haven’t given much thought to during the freelance chapters of my career until now.
• I got a hard and long overdue lesson about the role of mindfulness when kicking off projects. The lesson was a bit painful to acknowledge at first, but I’ve already seen it begin to pay off.

I’m not bitter. I’m rebuilding and moving forward.