Looking Back on 2024, The Year I Turned 20

It was a hectic year.

Finally, the life predetermined by society has ended.

For the first time, I experienced myself outside of school.

Yes, I graduated from Hansei Cyber Security High School, a specialized vocational high school, and got a job at a startup.

Since most of my school friends did the same, it didn't feel particularly special.

I had been planning for this moment for a very long time.

Perhaps that's why, now that I'm where I dreamed of being, I don't know where to look next.

I think I started this too heavy. Let me try to record my past year through this short piece of writing.

An Eventful School Life

I always thought graduation would be the best thing ever.

These days, when talking with friends, we often share regrets about wanting to go back and do better.

But we've already graduated, and thinking that it's a time we can never return to makes it feel even more beautiful somehow.

I wasn't an exceptional student, didn't achieve any great accomplishments, and wasn't particularly good at studying.

Still, one thing is certain—from that school life, I gained memories that will last a lifetime, and I was happy.

And so, on February 8th of this year, I graduated.

Continuing Into Work Life

It was the place I had dreamed of. Literally, my dream became reality and became my everyday life.

The first company I joined was truly a great place.

The best culture and the best colleagues that someone with no experience like me could imagine.

And it was the best environment with so much to learn while working.

I started frontend development for the first time at the company, studied Next.js, and gained open source contribution experience by adding company-related code and documentation to various LLM-related libraries.

I actively shared opinions and implementations for internal feature additions, and particularly became known as a bug hunter at the company.

I guess all that effort trying to break everything my high school friends proudly showed me really paid off.

Even on days when all the p0 incident alarms are because of me, I'm happy that there are colleagues who say they highly value me.

Personal Stories

I thought a lot about how to make this writing interesting, but concluded it wasn't necessary. It's not really an important piece anyway, and I figured it just needs to remind me later, "Oh, that's how 2024 felt."

24 Q1

I went to Incheon Military Manpower Administration for my physical examination. It would have been so much better if they had assigned me to the Seoul office—it's such a shame that day took 3 hours to get there. On the way, I stopped by Inha University to see the famous mechanical duck.

I graduated. As I mentioned above, I got "graduated upon."

Thinking it would be my first and last chance, I participated in Hi-Thon. Well, it was the last hackathon targeting high school students. I thought that would be my last hackathon, but looking back now, it's quite interesting that I participated in hackathons so frequently afterward.

Around this time, I also created the first version of the blog I'm currently using.

And.... there were days when I drank way too much. Even now, when someone asks how much I can drink, I reminisce about that day—Sebu In Vodka in Hapjeong... With unlimited vodka and cocktails, I drank until I nearly died, thinking it would be a waste of money otherwise.

On the way home, I did 20-year-old behavior on the streets of Hapjeong, snapped out of it, and somehow took an express bus home.

I also tried buying lottery tickets. It was a 2,000 won scratch ticket, and I won 1,000 won. Thinking I did relatively well(?), I went to the lottery shop to exchange it, and I remember the day they tried to give me another lottery ticket instead.

After being stunned for a moment, I asked if I could get cash instead, and only then did they give me the thousand won.

24 Q2

The world briefly went dark. And then it turned back on.

At the company, we hosted a GenAI hackathon at Seoul National University, and it was really busy. I went to many places for fun, and I remember the day we went to Children's Grand Park.

Ah, perhaps I wasn't really there. It was a time when things were a bit hard, and I felt like I needed to figure things out even though I still didn't know anything. It hurt so much, felt closed off, and cold.

At the same time, I was the happiest. I shaved my head, said goodbye to someone, my birthday passed, and I entered military training.

24 Q3

Oops, I've already completed training—time felt like an eternity. Before and after were absolutely not the same, and although nothing changed, everything felt different. After letting go of someone precious, it felt like facing something unknown in the unknown, without knowing what emotion I was feeling. Regardless, time passed, passed even faster, and my loop repeated.

24 Q4

Things got busier, I did more things, and around this time, the company hosted its first meetup event.

Although I didn't prepare it myself, it felt like the events I used to do at school, so it was fun. Time became completely separated.

I had my first coffee chat, and connections formed outside of company, school, or family. New possibilities were presented to me, and countless possibilities emerged.

I participated in many events and had experiences I had never tried or experienced before. It was a time that made me look forward to next year, even if just a little.

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Self-Reflection

I did some self-reflection. Throughout my life, I've frequently had problems because of my personality and attitude. Basically, I have issues with looking down on others, being self-centered, and having excessive self-love. It's not that I didn't know. I was aware. However, I didn't realize objectively where this could be a problem, and generally, I didn't pay attention because I had gotten through many incidents unscathed.

That is, until something big happened. Something happened, and it changed me a little.

At first, I was distressed because I couldn't find my way, so I asked my friends. My friend, who has been my friend since middle school and knows more personal things about me than anyone in the world, evaluated me as this socially awkward guy. Saying I'm severely lacking in consideration for others.

I think this remains a challenge for me. What my fundamental problems are and solutions to become a better person. I hope I can become a better person next year.

Things I Enjoyed Watching / Playing / Reading

The best movie was Dune: Part Two, and for anime, I enjoyed Frieren: Beyond Journey's End and Dandadan. I still haven't finished reading the first volume of Dune that I bought—I should read it before the year ends.

The book I least regretted reading was "And Then There Were None."

And this year, I really enjoyed playing League of Legends. I'm not good at it, but I've been consistently playing Blitzcrank, and whether I win or lose, it's fun. Maybe it's just that playing LoL for the first time was fun.

* I rewatched Interstellar in IMAX when it was re-released... the impact still hasn't faded... If there's some Murphy's Law-like thing working in my life... I don't know.

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I'm still just someone who likes stars and admires the universe. Someday, I hope I can show someone the universe.