Holidays are here, and I am trying to finish my work for this year. In the meantime, whenever I have some free time, I feel an urge to write more blog posts about my life in 2025. This urge to write is stronger whenever I come across blog posts on powRSS and BearBlog about the conclusion of the year. It is so motivating to read people writing about books they read, Christmas movies they are watching, their New Year’s expectations, holiday preparation, and so many more topics. I love reading your posts <3. Love it!!!

This month, every day I am feeling like being in a carnival where we bloggers are coming and presenting our joyous moments, struggles, and life experiences of this year.

Today, the most awaited weekend of the year started, and the first thing I am doing in the morning is to write about my year. Sitting in my room with lofi-music in the background—thanks to Pablo’s post about Konpeito tapes—the first word that is coming to my mind is Gratefulness. I felt more grateful this year to many people than ever before. The reason might be that many good things happened this year, such as finishing my PhD, spending time with my wife as a newlywed couple, joining my first post-doctorate position in a new country, and now expecting a baby. However, there were some traumatizing events as well, when my stress levels were so high that I wanted to run away. Nevertheless, the overall effect of the year was positive for my family and me. So I am grateful to have a loving family who held back in tough times.

The Indieweb blogging community also deserves credit for my overall well-being. Without encountering Manu’s blog, it would be impossible to start my own blog, as he is among the few who are standing in the corporate-driven social media storm with a signboard of "There is still a hope". I followed that sign last year, started my own blog, quit corporate social media, and found a new web community that is not driven by greed or money. I felt happier, healthier, and more connected. My blog became an important part of my life, and I found a hobby. Thanks, Manu.

I am also grateful to you all who regularly maintain personalized blogs (and do not show ads :P). I love reading your latest posts as well as checking out the designs, themes, colophon, and now pages. Your blogs not only inspire me to improve my own blog but also give me new ideas to try. For instance, recently I found a life-calendar page on Rishikeshs’s blog, and I was immediately fascinated, so I made my own lifecalendar.

I want to especially thanks the guys who are doing things for the community, such as Pablo thanks for powRSS, Harman thanks for BearBlog discover, Manu thanks for Peoples and Blogs, Andreas thanks for indieweb.page. James and Meadow, thanks for creating the useful indieWeb tools.

The only thing I missed many times this year is when I resonate well with a post, and there is no email/comment box to reply. So I request you, please add an email to the blog. If you do not want a personal email, just make an extra one on Proton for free. This way, we can have many more conversations.

So you lovely bloggers, keep on blogging.