With this year coming to a close, I'd like to push aside all the negativity and write about all the things that I'm deeply grateful for. I feel very lucky that despite everything, I was able to make great strides both professionally and personally this year. So here goes: (1/N)

I got to work with some of the best people I know at @HarvardVCG and @PixxelSpace as an AI Researcher. Here, I learned the value in questioning and personally testing every assumption about every claim made by research papers, media, books and everything else.(2/N)

My summer was spent getting perhaps the best deep learning education with this year's @fastdotai course as a FastAI International Fellow. It wouldn't have been possible without @bhutanisanyam1, @amaarora, @TheZachMueller, @abanerjee99, Rekil, and of course @jeremyphoward.(3/N)

I was able to break off from the capitalist productivity mindset which says that you should be listening to audiobooks even when relaxing on the beach and that FAANG companies are the only ones worth joining. A good life is lived on fresh grass and not crowded parks. (4/N)

I was able to get to and maintain a consistent workout schedule for the past few months without missing a single session. Kudos to @Freeletics for their amazing AI trainer. It wasn't easy, but then it wouldn't be worth it otherwise. (5/N)

I got to spend much of the year with my family and my 4 yo nephew. This is perhaps the last time I'll be with them for a long while (I'm moving to Bengaluru in a few months for work). No words can express how thankful I am for this.
And yes -- they grow up fast. (6/N)

The only thing missing from my final year in college was the @bitspilaniindia campus. It was here that I got to take all the intellectual, personal, and professional risks and learnings that got me where I am today. It wouldn't have been possible anywhere else in India. (7/N)

Lastly, I've improved a lot this year at the ONE THING I love most: playing Drums. I've never been closer to my instrument than now, and you should probably watch out for a surprise announcement of me giving up AI and joining a rock band full-time xD (not a joke. I repeat). (8/N)

All in all, this year has been the intellectual and professional highlight of my life (yet). I've never been more confident and full of conviction about myself and my journey in the years to come.
Here's to taking more risks, playing more drums, and to a life on fresh grass!