New Year's Resolutions

0. Be a better developer.

Definitely this. This was my goal in 2014 and it’ll continue to be my #1 goal in 2015. In 2013, I had the ambiguous resolution of “learn to code.” Or “learn to code more.” In 2014, with help, I got the fundamentals down, enough to be employed full-time as a developer. 2015 is where I can continue to improve my skills and put this knowledge to good use. Which brings me to resolution 2:

1. Meaningful open source contributions.

Now that I am capable of contributing, I’m ready to start doing so, even if I have to start small. I’ve wanted to contribute to open source projects ever since the time I installed VLC Media Player (and read the documentation) when I was 14 or 15. I’m not ready to become a C++ and algorithms master in a year, but there are plenty of open source projects that could benefit from my skill set.

2. Double my git commits.

I like to put something attainable and quantifiable on my list of goals. This post would have been my 1000th commit of 2014 if I’d posted this when I started writing it (and dated: the 27th). It’s currently at 1082. I’d like to at least double that number by this time next year. I don’t think I’ll have to make much of an effort here, as I’ve been actively contributing to the code base where I work from Week 1, intend to follow through on resolution 2, above, and have too many side projects I want to get started on.

3. More technical blog posts.

I hate writing technical posts! I worry that they will end up dry and boring, I’m scared of being wrong, and it’s overall not as enjoyable as a blog post talking about my ~feelings~. But I know technical blog posts help reinforce what I know, they help other people, and they can potential help me when I inevitably forget a concept or method of server setup months down the road.

4. Give back.

I have been very lucky in my life, and this year in particular. So many other people haven’t had the opportunities that have been handed to me, but I want everyone to be able to get the education and help they need if they want to learn web development. I want to keep tutoring, keep mentoring, and keep getting others excited about code. Whether it’s helping 1-on-1, giving educational talks, writing tutorials, or even just explaining why my list starts with 0 instead of 1, I’m ready to help out.

5. Give back (field-specific).

I also care a lot (too much?) about moving image archiving, digital preservation, and video on the web. Leaving my previous field was very hard and worthy of its own blog post, but I am 100% dedicated to making contributions to those fields or areas of study, even if I am not actively doing it full time.

Oh, and learn vim. Another easy one. My keyboard shortcut game is strong but I’m ready to step it up.

2014 has been a really great year for me and I’m looking forward to 2015.