It’s easy to arrive at a destination and say the trials were worth it. 

But in a graph charted backwards, dozens of dots are forgotten to give one an illusion of smooth sailing. And I had plenty of initial virtual pimples that I had to embrace. 

With every piece, I inched closer to defining my writing style. If you have to pick between quantity and quality, pick quantity (surprise). You can’t write 30 terrible pieces in a row. I began to chip away at the daunting wall of starting an article. 

I pivoted towards something I loved: the intersection of technology and gaming. 

Instead of instantly hitting publish, multiple revisions and cutting out fluff made for crisp content. First came the rejections. Next came the little wins.

My biggest wins came from interviewing the industry’s finest, the minds behind iconic studios BioWare and id Software. Soon, I began to store ideas and kickstart a piece without inertia, achieving a flow state in minutes. Cutting off distractions drastically reduced the time it took to pen articles. A decluttered desk and a schedule helped too. 

If you’ve made it this far, know that I am grateful for your presence. 

Here’s to doing what we love and a future of fulfilment.

My takeaways from 2020 still apply but in a rough year, don’t beat yourself up over the circumstances. I couldn’t stick to half of my advice in 2021.

But growth is non-linear. Watch it compound as you put in the work.

A Game Pass subscription coupled with the kindness of game studios gave me 2021's greatest excuse: consuming content for “research.” The latter helped me work with talented minds from both journalism and the game industry at large. I wrote less this year but the little wins grew.

This year wasn’t about evening odds, it was about growing alongside them.

Learning Japanese alongside a 9-to-5 engineering job rounds off a year that has taught me a great deal about myself. Slowing down and taking detours helped me attempt to accept the losses around me. Despite the odds, some of my side projects were brought to life while others remain dreams.

Your presence keeps me going. As for your dreams, godspeed.

2022 was a year of recovery and growth.

It taught me that I had things to unlearn and places to be.

It also reminded me that core memories arrive without warning. Three years ago, I could not have pictured myself covering a game dev conference or being nominated for a journalism award. Debuts across noted publications and interactions with editors across the world have filled me with gratitude and determination.

It has been an incredibly fulfilling journey and I can't wait to see where it takes me.

In 2023, don't sleep through dreams that can come true.

I reached a checkpoint and saved my progress in 2023.

Quitting my 9-to-5 was a gamble. And boy did it pay off. My first full-time games journalism job pulled me out of the survivor mode I had been in for two years. It allowed new works of art to shape my view of the world. My review scores and quotes in accolades trailers remind me of my responsibility to the medium.

I still haven't quite mastered the art of critique. There are things I want to improve in my writing. And I still have projects left unfinished. But there's no denying that I'm closer to home.

This year, cherish those who've helped you make it this far.

2024 was a year of reflection and redirection.

While losing a full-time contract to the whims of search algorithms stung, it gave me the space to realize I am more than my work. I attended a press conference where Indian IT ministers discussed their vision for a medium I've grown to love. As I got back on my feet with part-time gigs, I pursued projects from the back burner. I laid the foundation for my comic series Orijinns under Sandstorm Comics and Ron Marz, a Marvel/DC veteran. And Aldebaran, a card game inspired by Arab astronomy, began to take form over playtests and hours of research.

I suppose there's some relief in finding questions I can spend a lifetime pursuing.

Keep your dreams alive.