Ah, the festive season (it is December 25th as I start writing this). The most wonderful time of the year. The season when we come together and celebrate. The time when we slow down to take a look back at the year past, and look forward to the year ahead.

2023 has been a difficult year. To say that my year ended on a low note would be an understatement, it has mostly been nothing but unmet goals and unrealized plans. Oh well, these kind of things happen all the time, I usually remind myself that it is in my power to choose how to respond. This time I choose to be hopeful and optimistic - “what stands in the way becomes the way” and all that.

That being said, there are a handful of things that I did accomplish this year. On the one hand, I (and I’m sure, many others), view these as modest achievements. On the other, I also believe that all success, however minor, should be appreciated. They are proof of progress and improvement. And when many little improvements accumulate, great changes should follow.

With that in mind, here are the stories of my small wins in 2023.

Project Calliope

If you’re reading these words, you’re currently looking at Project Calliope - my blog website, named after one of the nine Muses from Greek Mythology.

For a long time, I’ve wanted to make my own website: that’s why I started learning HTML as my first language in 2020. And for an almost as long time, I’ve also wanted to put my ideas out to the world in the form of writing. I listed “blogging” as “coming soon” on my old portfolio in 2021, and I’ve known writing to be an important aspect of nurturing creativity. The ability to communicate and spread ideas - whether by writing or any other form - is also incredibly powerful.

I’ve just been procrastinating on these intentions, year after year. Until one day in April, when I figured: why not both and why not now? I can answer neither.

And thus was born Project Calliope.

Early sketch of the website's homepage design. Please excuse my lack of drawing ability .

The development process presented its challenges. Along the way I managed to picked up some basics of working on the backend (Django, PostgreSQL), front-end (Bootstrap and responsive design). Dare I say, I’m a better programmer after working on this. And maybe, a better writer too (although that’s for you to judge).

So far I’ve written a grand total of… 6 posts (including this one), generating some… 200 views. Small? Yes. Win? Absolutely. 

You can read my other posts at this link: https://giangson.me/blog/

Project Chiron

Project Chiron (named after the teacher of many heroes in Greek mythology) is my effort of becoming a teacher. It originated in 2022 when I volunteered teach an internal course for fellow colleagues.

I have been contemplating the idea of being a mentor figure has been in my head since I was a little child (I guess that’s normal when you’re born to teacher parents), but never gave it serious thoughts. I consider myself lacking essential qualities of good teachers, and I seriously doubt my abilities to make an impact on the learners. Besides, being at an early stage of my career, I’d much rather be the learner myself.

Last year’s internal course was a welcome surprise. I do not remember why I decided to participate, but anyway I’m pleased that I did. It was the proof that I needed that I can be a force of good. It’s also my way of being “the person you needed when you were younger” and all that.

So in October, when a few friends asked about how to learn SQL, I thought “why not” and offered to be their tutor.

So far I have taught in total… 5 sessions, to an audience of… 2 friends. Not much, I know. But as the Vietnamese saying goes: “Một chữ cũng là thầy…”. (Although, I specifically ask friends to not call me a teacher until I feel more worthy of the title).

I’m currently putting this project on hold to handle other priorities, but I do have further intentions for next year.

Reading Goal

In 2023, I managed to finish 24 books. Despite coming one short of the 25-book goal I set at the beginning of the year, I consider this a win anyway. When it comes to books, I think it’s quality over quantity: I’d rather read less and have the books be more impactful and not other the way around.

Thankfully, I picked some really good books this year. So many that I can’t cover them all in one section of this post (which is a nice problem to have), so here’s quick rundown:

• Books that taught me about macro/ global issues:
  • “Good Economics For Hard Times” is a insightful review of economic principles and their actual roles in real life policy making (spoiler: it’s not as simple as it seemed when I was learning macroeconomic theories in university).
  • “Chip War” is a super interesting read on the history of the semi conductor history and its major players, leading right up to the recent conflicts between global superpowers (US vs China) for control of tiny chips that run our smartphones.
• Books that taught me how to look within:
  • “Storyworthy” introduces me to the idea that my life doesn’t have to be boring, it is inherently collection of super interesting stories. I just need to acquire the perspective of a storyteller to be able to see them clearly.
  • “Stillness is the Key” is much needed reminder of finding stillness in life regardless of external influences.

If you’re curious about all the other books that I read this year, you can find them here: Giang Son’s 2023 reading challenge | Goodreads