I am a big fan of new year's resolutions. I like the idea of challenging myself to improve and become a better person. I also know that goals are more obtainable if they are quantitative. So that is why my new year's resolution is to complete 21 projects in 2021.

Some background. I am or more accurately "was" a professional web developer. Not long ago, I worked a full-time job while also teaching web development part-time. While I enjoyed both jobs, it was a very stressful time balancing the two jobs and a family home.

So after some consideration, I chose to quit my full-time job to spend more time with my family. I would also become a stay-at-home dad while still teaching part-time.

That was 4 years ago. During that time, I dove headfirst to become the best teacher I could be by taking courses, watching other professors, and learning from my mistakes. I also spent more time with my children and took over the cooking and cleaning. For me, it has been pretty great, except for one thing... I miss developing.

While I do some development as a professor, it is mostly assignment creation and pretty limited in scope. I miss working on larger projects. Projects that take days or weeks to complete, not mere minutes. Not only am I missing the thrill, I am also worried that been "out" for too long. In web development, trends can change with the wind, and today's latest technologies will be made "obsolete" in a few short months. Four years is basically a lifetime. But before web development was my job, it was my hobby, and I am not ready to give up yet. Hence, my challenge.

I have a list of projects. Some have been on my to-do list for a while, and others seem interesting. This list has way more than 21 items, and not all of them are for web development. But I hope that I will finalize the list and start working on my first project in the coming weeks.

Hello, 2021. Let's get to work.