2025 was an important year for me.

It was a year with two sides: real achievements that made me proud, and challenges that forced me to grow.

Looking back now, I can see how much changed, not only in what I did day to day, but also in how I learned to deal with pressure, uncertainty, and my own expectations.

From support to developer

My professional story didn’t start with a “developer” title.

In my first job, I joined the company on the IT infrastructure side. My work was mostly about enabling other people to do their jobs: providing technical support, managing assets, handling platforms, stepping in when something broke or when someone needed help. It was a solid foundation, and I spent two years in that world.

But at the end of 2024, something shifted. I was moved internally into solution development.

That made 2025 my first full year as a developer.

And it was a very different rhythm.

Suddenly, I wasn’t just keeping systems running, I was building things that didn’t exist yet. I had to learn how the work actually moves from an idea to something a user can rely on. I dealt with delivery plans, sprints, user stories, features, bug fixes, the whole cycle.

If I had to summarize my biggest work-related learning from 2025, it would be this: organization is not optional.

An idea doesn’t become a working product just because it’s a good idea. It has to travel through many steps: planning, breaking down, prioritizing, refining, implementing, testing, adjusting.

I learned that progress depends on structure, and structure is what keeps the team, and my own mind, from drowning in chaos.

A year of studying

Outside of work, 2025 was study-heavy.

I studied math. I studied programming languages more deeply. And I studied for a college entrance exam.

It wasn’t just “a bit of studying,” either it was a huge portion of my year. Some days felt like I had two full-time jobs: work during the day, preparation at night.

So… what did I get out of it?

A lot.

I passed the entrance exam, one of the clearest wins of my year. Studying math helped me directly during subjects in my first semester. And going deeper into programming languages helped my team deliver a system by the end of the year.

I want to write about that system later, because it taught me a lot.

Anxiety was part of the package

With all that pressure, anxiety showed up, often.

And honestly, it makes sense. My brain was constantly trying to do everything at once: give my best to pass the exam, while also staying sharp and reliable at work.

That kind of mental load doesn’t disappear just because you “try harder.”

It didn’t just affect my productivity, either. At times, anxiety got in the way of my interactions with the people around me.

I was more irritable, more distracted, and more “in my head” than I wanted to be, and that made me realize I needed to take this seriously, not just push through it.

So I had to learn how to calm down in real, practical ways, not just motivational advice.

One of the best decisions I made was taking a trip in the middle of the year, during my vacation, to the countryside. Slowing down for a while helped me breathe again.

Another change was simpler but powerful: I started going for walks every morning. Nothing extreme, just consistent movement, fresh air, and time to be with my thoughts without screens or deadlines.

I deleted my social media accounts and I picked up photography as a new hobby.

But most importantly, I sought professional help.

That step mattered. It taught me that asking for support isn’t weakness. It’s maintenance.

2026

2025 gave me achievements I’m proud of.

It also gave me problems that taught me lessons I needed.

I became a developer. I proved to myself I can study hard and reach a goal that once felt far away. And I faced a lot of anxiety.

For 2026, I have one goal.

Balance my new responsibilities well, and to keep progressing, but at my pace.

No rush. No constant sprint. No living as if everything is an emergency.

I want consistency, not chaos.

Because if 2025 taught me anything, it’s that growth doesn’t have to come from pressure alone.

It can also come from patience, structure, and learning to move forward without burning out. And that’s exactly the kind of days I want to build now.

Slow is still forward.