2025 felt like a long year. It had a quiet rhythm of work, travel, small experiments, and a few big moments that reminded me why I do what I do. Not everything went as planned, but looking back, I can see a thread running through it all: curiosity, discipline, and the effort to do the right thing even when it is not the easiest choice.
A Year of Doing the Right Thing
This year I received the "Do The Right Thing" Supercharged Award at WP Engine. It is given to people who act with integrity and fairness, even when no one is watching. That meant a lot to me because this value has always guided how I work and how I treat people. It reminded me that doing the right thing is not a slogan. It is a quiet daily choice.
Numbers That Mean Something (and Some That Don't)
In 2025 I made around 3800 git commits compared to 1242 last year. That number by itself means nothing, but what excites me is what it represents. Almost every commit was a small experiment, a prototype, a proof of concept. None of them felt like routine work. Each one was a curiosity turned into code, and that kept me learning and alive as an engineer.
Playing with AI, Building the Future
This year I explored AI models more deeply than ever. I used Google's image models and Microsoft's audio ones to build new ideas for upcoming products and features. I also became one of Z.AI's ambassadors, mostly because I use their language models constantly for personal projects. There is something satisfying about seeing these tools evolve and imagining what they can become next year.
On the Road Again
It was also a year of movement. I visited Greece, my birth country, and spent time in Tunisia, the United States, Bulgaria, Ireland, and Poland. I also did an unforgettable Eurotrip from the United Kingdom to Greece, driving through France, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, and Bulgaria along the way.
My family and I drove around twenty thousand miles in total. The mix of work, travel, and reflection turned this year into something more than just busy. It felt alive.
I hope to keep exploring in 2026, probably visiting more Asian and exotic countries that I have not seen yet.
Looking Ahead
Next year will bring announcements for the projects I have been quietly building during these months. Some will work, some will fail, and I am fine with both. What matters to me is to keep building and to keep doing the right thing.
More than anything, I want to keep finding meaning in the work itself, in the people I meet, and in the small ideas that quietly grow into something real. That is what keeps me curious and honest, no matter what comes next.
If I had to summarize 2025 in one thought, it would be this:
"I tried to create work that mattered and to stay honest while doing it."