I didn’t write year-end reflections in 2022 and 2023. This year felt right to return the tradition.
A repost of my original Instagram post.
2024 was incredible, crazy, and in every way nothing like I could have imagined it to be.
The year started with a move (or 3.5 moves, depending on how you count). A hackathon project at work turned into a 9-month-long sprint toward a product launch (that happened on Instagram in September) and one of the best experiences of my career so far. Many of us in computer science have been disillusioned (perhaps rightly so) with the hype surrounding generative AI like LLMs, but working on voice dubbing, enabling someone to “speak” in another language, has truly been meaningful. Also, thanks to work, after not having been to NYC in over 8 years, I found myself in midtown Manhattan 3 times this year, an adventure in itself. Somehow, I continued taking classes every quarter at Stanford, squeezing in weekend “side projects” on speech synthesis and reinforcement learning.
When there wasn’t work, life also continued to move on. My dad was diagnosed with late-stage cancer last year. However, while 2023 felt like a year of loss in many ways, 2024 was the year of healing and renewed hope. His health stabilized. A few of our relatives visited Seattle from India. I felt the minor miracle of celebrating Diwali together in the same place for the first time and watching my aunt and uncle delight at the hydrangeas and mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest.
I found happiness in samoyeds, an orange cat, cherry blossoms, the aurora borealis, long walks, calls with friends near and across the world, stories about Spain from my housemate, my mom’s Indian cooking, and workouts with my brother. I learned that love is about wanting to see joy in others and doing everything you can to make that happen. I’m not sure what’s in store for 2025, but I will step into it with a full heart. Thanks to everyone who was part of my story, and I wish you a happy new year! Gracias y feliz año nuevo.
