Life as a 25-year-old

Posted on August 10th, 2009 by Sacha Chua

It’s great to be able to look back and really look back–to be able to review a year’s worth of blog posts, to remember, to see how much I’ve changed and how much I’m still the same.

Here were the goals I set for myself last year:

By August 2009, I’d like to be able to look back and say that I’ve:

completed a book on Emacs (whether published by No Starch Press or self-published)

increased my reach and responsibilities at and outside work

completed my paperwork for the permanent residency application (Canadian experience class?)

continued to donate 10% of my income

continued to save at least 50% of my income

developed another income source aside from salary, interest, and index growth

learned how to cook at least 20 new recipes

The book on Emacs fell by the wayside as I started doing more and more Drupal development at work. I turned the project over to Ian Eure, another Emacs blogger whom I greatly admire. At work, I became a Drupal guru, and I spoke at DrupalCon on the deployment processes. I submitted my paperwork for the Canadian Experience Class skilled worker permanent residency. I have a fair amount of money in circulation on Kiva.org and earmarked for the Toronto Public Library, although less than the 10% I’d targeted. I’ve been able to save 52% of my income, building a healthy retirement fund, an investment fund, and a dream fund. I haven’t developed another major income source, although I’ve identified a number of opportunities that I could turn into income someday. As for recipes–I’ve had lots of fun cooking, and I’m sure I’m well past that number.

Compared to my 24th year, my life as a 25-year-old wasn’t about major changes. It’s hard to top all the shifts that happened in 2007-2008: graduating, starting at IBM, getting used to the idea of being in Canada… 2008-2009 was much calmer. I discovered my inner domestic goddess as we acquired two cats (both adopted from the shelter), a sewing machine, a garden, a canner, numerous pictures and frames, a number of camera lenses, and a love for making and photographing things. I built on existing skills such as drawing and presenting, and I branched into new hobbies such as improv and playing the piano. I’m still as much in love with both my partner and my work as I was a year ago, which is absolutely wonderful. My in-jokes with W- are deeper and richer, thanks to another year of shared experiences. At work, I became the go-to person for Drupal because of my development skills–and then I switched hats and took a consulting/networking role created for me. I’ve started experimenting with ways to make life even better: trying out delegation, exploring crafts, creating experiences… Life is amazing!

My favourite posts:

I’m looking forward to learning even more about my passions and interests, people, and life. When I turn 27, I hope to be able to look back and say that I:

created another year’s worth of experiences, memories, and dreams
helped build innovation networks and shared what I’ve learned with others
helped build Drupal skills within the company
wore something I made every day
enjoyed home cooking and explored new recipes
relaxed in improvised situations
saved half of my income and donated a tenth
got to the point of having a place for everything, and everything in its place
built and deepened more friendships
figured out what I know, what I want to learn, and how to share both of those
shared my happiness and enthusiasm with even more people

Thanks for sharing an amazing year with me. =) Looking forward to future adventures!

More posts about: annual, life, yearly // 3 Comments »

Short URL: http://sachachua.com/blog/p/6506

Justin Hernandez

Nice work! Congrats Sacha you’re an amazing young and intelligent woman! I hope you inspire more women to join the male dominated world of computers. I look forward to many more years of your computer insights. Congrats again.
http://spontanordning.wordpress.com Gisela Jönsson

Very nice list! I don’t think I have commented before but I would really like to say that your focus and attitude are very inspiring and makes me think of ways that I too can follow my bliss.
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