Happy New Year, everyone! 2025 was tumultuous but in the end I accomplished my professional goal of the last 10 years: transition from academia to industry. I went through several job rejections (in the hindsight very fortunately so), decided to commit to my research project and a startup idea, endured months-long unemployment and wound up at an up-and-coming industrial R&D AI lab. I feel like I drew a lucky ticket, but this is only a beginning and I need to double down on my goals in 2026. While the locus of my attention was on survival, I drifted away from someone I loved dearly and eventually I lost them. My newfound success has tasted bittersweet.

I also established a sleep schedule with consistent going to bed time at or before 10pm and waking up before 7am; this did wonders for my productivity. I am still affected by anxiety and looking for ways to improve my focus in 2026. I am hoping that it will be my most prolific year.

I could not have done this all without several of my close friends and collaborators, to whom I owe a big thank you.