2025 reflections

At the start of every year, I write some unrealistic goals for myself on my iPad and tbh while writing them even I don’t believe I will achieve them. I still do it just for the thrill of it.

This year I promised myself a few things → get fit, learn driving, swimming, maybe even MMA?? (what was I even thinking), start running, go on a trek, participate in at least one marathon. Did 0 out of these ;(

At the same time, I had set some very high, borderline unrealistic goals for myself around work, freelancing, finances, and travel. And I can’t be grateful enough when I say this, I achieved and excelled in every single one of them.

I thank myself for setting those goals. I am a huge believer in manifestation, and maybe while writing them down, I manifested them into my life and unconsciously directed all my energy toward that path.

Watching the year unfold, one month at a time

January was usual for me, daily work stuff with nothing new going on. I was waiting for my year-end bonus from the company I was working with and was holding off on switching jobs because of that. Alongside, I was working at Agno on a contract, building AI agents.

February came with a sudden urge to travel. I decided to go to Anini, an offbeat place in Arunachal Pradesh, to celebrate my 25th birthday there. No network, under 10 AQI, saw snowfall for the first time, and ended up getting stuck for two extra days because of roadblocks. What an adventurous 25th birthday!

I came back from Anini and barely two weeks later, I was off on my first international trip, Bali, with my best friend. Kelingking Beach had been on my bucket list for almost a year, and when I finally saw it, it felt unreal. I genuinely had to pinch myself.

Quitting and uncertainty

On the second last day of the trip, I decided to quit my job, without having any offers in hand. I did not fully know what would come next, and that uncertainty did make me a little uneasy, but the decision itself felt right in that moment.

I called my parents, and they were as supportive as they always are.

I came back to Blr and stayed at my boyfriend’s place for almost a month. I was without a job, figuring out if I even wanted to do a full-time role anymore. I gave a few interviews, but nothing really clicked. I met a lot of friends, tried to stay calm, and as the month started coming to an end, I began freaking out a little.

When things started aligning

And then, almost suddenly, things started aligning. I got a text from the founder of Mem0 asking what I was up to (thanks to X, he had seen my work). We got on a call, and I told him I was on a break and not looking to join anywhere full-time at that point. He was supportive and let me experiment by working with Mem0 on a part-time contract.

Around the same time, I got a message from another company building their own agentic framework. They wanted me to work with them as a consultant. That is when I decided to try out full-time consultancy.

Excitement and momentum builds

April started with a bang and lots of blessings. I started working with two companies and came back home from Blr. I had already been working remotely from my hometown, Agartala in the Northeast, since 2023.

The next three months flew by. I was heads down building, two more companies came in, and at one point, I was working with five clients. I got to work on some of the most exciting problems around memory systems, VLMs, retrieval, and search. These domains excite me the most, and I could not have been happier.

But I was also working almost 12 to 14 hours every day and was slowly inching toward burnout.

Slowing down to reset

I decided to take a break for a week and went to Jaipur with my family to rewind.

One thing I learned this year was to pay close attention to how my body and mind were reacting. It is good to hustle, but for me, staying healthy emotionally, physically, and mentally has always been a priority.

Betting on the founders

Taking the leap of faith and going all in on consultancy was one of the best decisions I made. Over time, full-time offers from Mem0, Tavily, and a few other companies came in. But I knew I wanted to work on something closely related to coding agents.

During July, I had discussions with the founders of SpecStory, and I instantly liked both the people and the product. They were building the intent and decision layer for software development, something I strongly believed was missing. After a few conversations, I got an offer to join them as a founding engineer, basically the fourth employee.

I was a bit confused about leaving offers from companies that had already raised Series A and joining a super early-stage startup. Thanks to my friends, and especially Ayush, I was able to think clearly about it. He said just one sentence, “Bet on the founders”, and I knew what to do.

Community, travel, and building something tangible

Outside of work, I made a lot of amazing new friends this year. I met people through X, spoke to dozens of folks who are equally excited about search, retrieval, memory systems, and coding agents. Having conversations with people who genuinely love what they do feel energizing in a different way.

I also went on another international trip, this time to Singapore, with my boyfriend. We had been planning this trip since 2024, and it felt really nice to finally make it happen.

After almost three years, I also started taking sessions again. Hundreds of experienced folks, many with 10 to 15 years of software experience, attended sessions focused on advanced RAG. Teaching and learning alongside people who were deeply curious reminded me how much I enjoyed sharing knowledge.

I have also been spending time educating myself in finance. I invested heavily in stocks and gold, and a major portion of my income went into constructing our home. That is something I feel deeply proud of.

Monday doesn’t scare me anymore

I genuinely love the work I do now. Even though it is hard to fully express, the dopamine rush I get working in the field of coding agents, retrieval, and the research excites me every day. Monday does not scare me anymore.

What kept me grounded

If I reflect on my 2025 journey, I can say that at the start of the year, I never imagined all of this would be possible. Did I have these in my goals? Yes. I had written down some super unrealistic ones. I laughed at myself while writing them, but somewhere, I still wanted to make them real.

I am a strong believer in manifestation and also in how God’s plan works.

My reflections would be incomplete without mentioning how supportive my family and my boyfriend have been at every step, through my career decisions, crazy goals, travel plans, and even impulse buys. Having a supportive family removes a huge mental load automatically.

Another decision that has helped me a lot is being very opinionated about the kind of work I wanted to do. Since 2023, remote work had been a clear priority for me. Staying close to family helped me emotionally, and working remotely allowed me to travel multiple times a year, which is essential for me to do my best work.

Looking back, I also realize how much I benefited from taking care of myself in small, consistent ways. Eating mostly home-cooked food, sleeping well (almost 7-8 hrs daily), and not pushing past my limits too often helped me stay steady through a very intense year.

Wrapping up…

As I wrap this up, I can say that among the many crazy goals I set for myself, I was able to tick off some and missed a few others. But overall, I feel content and deeply grateful for everything this year has given me.

I am looking forward to 2026. A new set of crazy goals already awaits.