2023 was a good year for me. I graduated college in filmmaking. (Hire me, please!) I wrote (and rewrote) tens of thousands of lines of code. I narrowly passed 13 thousand photos taken. I met so many people, and made many new friends in both real life and online. I lived. I read. I wrote.

Today I’d like to share what I was doing last year and what I’m eying in the new year.

Euclid Editor

Moving into 2024, I’d like to release the thing I’ve spent roughly five years working on: Euclid Editor, the Minecraft world editor I built from the ground up.

This year, I want it finished. I’ve dedicated so much of my time last year into writing and testing it. Over the past few months, I’ve been putting in as many hours as a full-time job. As a result, the codebase has expanded substantially to roughly 28,500 lines of code.

There’ve been some really annoying roadblocks that I hadn’t triumphed until recently. They held me back, but they’re now behind me. I’m very proud of what I’ve done with it, and I hope it can withstand the weathering of time.

Looking forward to 2024

Besides Euclid, there’s much to look forward to in 2024. Like getting myself to getting a paying job!

I’m excited to keep my hobbies alive. I’ve had a great time reading this year, even if most of my reading is occupied by the New Yorker. (I read it front-to-back and it’s a lot.) That’s unlikely to slow down.

More writing and drawing might come into play for me. I’m a decent writer and a mediocre at best artist. Both could be improved.

There are some games released in 2023 that I’d like to get to, notably The Talos Principle II. I loved the first game and I can’t wait to play the second. The other one is Tears of the Kingdom, which I’ve embarrassingly played little of despite what Breath of the Wild did to me.

The Summer Olympics will take place in France this year, which has always been an exciting event for my family. North America will fall under a total solar eclipse which I hope to attend. (I went to the Great American Eclipse in 2017.) Dune: Part Two is coming and I’m very excited after seeing Part One.

Dreading 2024

Oh god there’s so much. There’s the dire threat of a second Trump presidency. Fascism and authoritarianism increased in 2023 in America and other parts of the globe, and that is on track to continue in 2024, with extremely centrist media outlets like the New York Times failing to see how uncritically they’re reporting on it.

Following widespread transphobia in 2023, 2024 is looking to allow homophobia back into the mainstream. Maybe we’ll strike out by not having misogyny being in vogue at the same time.

The climate is still warming and 2024 will be the next “hottest year on record”, but momentum is in our favor.

The invasions of Ukraine and Gaza don’t appear to have any respite. Tens of thousands will die from those wars alone in the early months of 2024. Civilians, especially children, are still being bombed in Gaza.

So yeah, it’s a bit unbalanced. But there are solutions. Like taking firmer stances against the far-right and fascism by the media and our government. Or pressuring legislatures into backing a ceasefire. We can take steps individually and collectively (i.e. legislation) to reduce our dependencies on plastics and fossil fuels. Fight for what’s right, because better things are possible.

Hey, if you want to call your congresspeople, just call their office and leave a message. Be more open about what’s right and what the end goal is.

Happy new year, everyone.