Wuhan in late December is as cold as ever, with an endless gray-white sky and an invisible, biting wind.
On this slightly tipsy, dazed evening, I realize that another year is coming to an end. I’m about to say goodbye to 2021, a year that was unplanned, unscripted, and filled with anxiety.
This year’s summary is a bit different from previous ones. I feel like writing a simple account of the year’s events would be nice. In previous years, focusing on how many LeetCode problems I solved or how many lines of code I committed only gave me a bunch of cold numbers.
A lot happened in 2021, more than in any previous year. I always tell myself that days are just artificially divided, but as I get older, the people around me are gradually moving into new stages of their lives. My anxiety arises from these changes, telling me that I should also choose my own path.
At the beginning of the year, my childhood friend proposed to his girlfriend. He, who is a bit younger than me, entered the marriage hall with his high school sweetheart in October. I attended his wedding and got drunk twice. I thought that the best blessing is to have a good time, and finishing the wine in my glass might be a way to comfort myself for not having the material means to express my blessings.
When I met with my old friends, I began to have the idea of escaping from this hometown, because I couldn’t see the kind of future I wanted here. Another generation is starting to repeat the lives of their parents in the same place - I’ve already seen this once.
The following days were spent preparing to grind LeetCode and find an internship. Just then, Cheng Ge from Dianshi invited me to his company for an internship, working on Go language development. This was my first time living alone in a rented apartment. Interning in the software industry was a completely new experience, different from my undergraduate days working in traditional companies. The time became more flexible, and the sufficient salary also allowed me to enjoy the coffee downstairs in the office building.
Later, Cheng Ge found Zhichen to come to the company to do security, and we shared an apartment. He may be the best person I met this year, a mentor and a friend, who truly broadened my technical horizons.
March to September passed quickly. In addition to working days, I also went to the Taihu Midi Festival with CherryFish, and the Wuhan Strawberry Festival with Liyu. On weekends, I visited all the beer bars in Guanshan.
After returning to school in September, it was the busy season of spring recruitment. Except for Alibaba, I basically applied to all the other companies. I found that I didn’t have a company I most wanted to go to, and always held the attitude of going with the flow, believing that everything is the best arrangement. September was busy, with basically three days a week having interviews or written tests. When it came to October, the National Day holiday made me a little discouraged. Fortunately, in the end, I still got an offer that I felt was good.
Starting in November, I entered the days of remote internship at Mr. Haozi’s company. Not having a good division between life and work made me suffer a lot, but I finally gained something.
The anxiety at the beginning of the year, in fact, I also found the answer. The industry winter, mid-life crisis, the crossroads of life, anxiety has no end, the best choice is to love what you love, and then stick to it, age is not important.
In 2022, my biggest wish is to graduate smoothly, and then smoothly transition to work. I will always be grateful to the people who helped me in 2021, who played different roles in my life.
Finally, say goodbye to a year mixed with expectations, anxiety, choices, disappointment, and gains.
