2024: In Retrospect

Here and Theres & Ups and Downs

2024 was certainly a year. Hard to believe around this time last year, I was just coming back from another disability leave that followed yet another severe depressive episode. I survived again (much gratitude again to my friends and family as always 🙏), but it does get harder each time to rebound. Every relapse takes a certain psychological toll, and it feels harder to muster the will to carry on after each time with the mindset that it’ll only be a matter of time before the next crash. Metaphorically, I liken the experience to the aftermath of smashing a puzzle; it can be put together again, but some of the pieces just no longer seem to fit anymore. Invariably, we pick up the remaining pieces and move forward.

It’s hard to believe I was living in the Bay Area working at Apple six or so months ago as well. Honestly, it feels like an entirely different life—for better and for worse. The journey east will always be a fond memory as we slept under the stars in Arizona, Utah, and Colorado, and I completed the coast-to-coast journey to my childhood home in Oradell, NJ later in the year.

St. Louis has been a wonderful place to find time and space for myself to rest and regroup. It’s been a bit more socially isolating without regular community and the uncertainty of where we will be in the next few months, but we’re doing our best to keep pushing forward.

In any case, here are my mental health stats for 2024, compliments of my Daylio logs (2,274 days strong 💪).

Here’s to a healthy and happy 2025 🙏 (and more updates to come on Luna Game Labs in the days to come.)