This year, we're not running the New Year Challenge. But I've developed the habit of writing a "year in review" post every year. So here's mine.
I'll remember 2025 as the year I became a writer—and the year I lost a close family member.
After five years of fighting a chronic disease, she left. It was the saddest, loneliest moment of my life. My sister and I ended up writing a memoir-like book to honor her memory.
2025 was a year of achievements and melancholy, winning and losing, endings and beginnings.
Some "victory dance" moments
#1. My first viral post.
One post about testing private methods got syndicated or reshared. BOOM! A traffic spike—and some ebook sales.
#2. My first podcast interview.
Well, it wasn't exactly an interview.
The ALX community invited me to a QA session with their coding students. Their community manager found one of my posts and reached out. Another victory for writing.
I shared the takeaways from the conversation here:
I didn't know about the ALX community before. They're building the next generation of coders and leaders in Africa.
#3. My first book, Street-Smart Coding
I wrote the book I wish I had starting out.
That was my most challenging writing project. It took about 4 months, from idea to typing the last word. Writing taught me plenty, but promoting taught me more.
I translated it to Spanish and published it on Amazon too.
And with a book came my first hater. Someone called me "b1tch" for promoting my book and left a sarcastic comment elsewhere.
Two levels unlocked: a book and hater.
#4. My first appearance on Hacker News.
Yes, my blog got syndicated on HN. I didn't make it to the first page. But hey, it's progress. One day!
My most read posts
If you missed any of them, here are my five most read posts from 2025 here on dev.to:
The last three made it to the Top 7. My favorites? The ones about the firing lessons and the first time I saw a computer.
If you want to level up your coding skills in 2026, check out Street-Smart Coding. It isn't a textbook, but a roadmap of 30 skills to code like a pro. Because you need more than syntax to stand out.
Thanks for reading, and happy coding in 2026!
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