Reflecting on 2024 - Health, career, and passion projects

2024 Highlights

It’s my first time doing a yearly recap in this way, but 2024 was a special year of growth, challenges, and new beginnings. 2023 was marked by the birth of our daughter, an event that in some ways helped me find the structure I needed in life and give my life purpose. And the consequences of this life-changing event have reverberated into 2024. Here are some key moments from the past year that have made me grow and pushed me forward in my life’s journey:

Health and wellness

After my huband’s health scare that marked the end of 2023, I joined him in a lifestyle overhaul and successfully lost weight after years of struggling with it. In contrast to previous attempts that ended up in me gaining everything back again, I maintained it over an extended period and am still at somewhat the same weight going into 2025.

Learning about nutrition has transformed my life, especially about its importance in prevention, and I am still shocked when I think about how little emphasis is given to proper nutrition by typical healthcare providers. When I was diagnosed with my autoimmune diseases, nobody mentioned how lifestyle changes could drastically improve symptoms and prevent autoimmune diseases from flaring up.

With guidance from the gastroenterologist that diagnosed my husband and diving into content from Die Ernährungsdocs, I’ve focused on prevention and understanding the pivotal role diet plays in managing autoimmune diseases like mine.

Having a small child who shares the same antibodies as me has added another motivation layer. This journey is not just for me but for my family. While I often hear statements like “nobody owes you health,” I feel differently. I owe it to my husband to remain as healthy as possible. Marriage may vow “in sickness and in health,” but I’d rather not rely on him to care for me due to preventable lifestyle-related illness. Similarly, I owe it to my daughter to do as much as I can to not burden her with taking care of me in my old age because I didn’t prioritize my health.

Returning to work

In April, I resumed work after a year-long maternity leave. My original open source team had been restructured under new leadership, with most members transitioning to a developer relations focus. I’m incredibly grateful to be part of this new team, where I’ve been learning, growing, and applying lessons from my master’s program. Despite being globally distributed, my team’s support has been a cornerstone of my professional journey. This experience has inspired me to align my master’s thesis with my work, diving even deeper into developer relations and what makes it stand out from marketing.

2024 also marked my first foray into submitting talk proposals for tech conferences. I’m thrilled to hear back and cautiously optimistic about the results.

Balancing work, study, and parenthood

Returning to work also meant unpausing the degree I put on hold before giving birth. Balancing the responsibilities of work and study alongside caring for a small child has been challenging but rewarding. Some weeks feel manageable, while others are disrupted by sleepless nights or unexpected needs—like singing lullabies for 30 minutes to calm teething pains.

I’m deeply thankful for my husband’s six-month paternity leave and my mother-in-law’s support, caring for our daughter three days a week. This robust support system has been crucial in achieving my goals.

When people ask how I manage everything, I point to three key elements:

1. A strong support system
2. Prioritizing what truly matters (my daughter, above all)
3. Not taking myself too seriously—things will get done eventually. I’m neither saving lives at work nor in my studies.

Travel and family time

In 2024, I was fortunate to spend a lot of quality time with family and friends. It started with my husband’s six-month paternity leave, which gave us precious moments together as a family when I wasn’t working. Our travels included trips to England to visit my relatives, a family holiday to Croatia with my parents-in-law, and two months with my parents visiting us in Austria.

We made several trips to Italy—first to celebrate my nonna’s 90th birthday and, heartbreakingly, a month later to say a final goodbye. In autumn, my English aunt visited, and we had a wonderful time showing her the beauty of Southern Styria. Christmas brought everyone together at home, including my parents, parents-in-law, brother, and sister-in-law, making it a truly special gathering.

I also cherished the visit from my best friend during the summer, giving us much-needed time to reconnect.

While we didn’t venture far beyond our usual destinations, most of our travels were focused on visiting family. I see this as a blessing—it’s a privilege to have loved ones spread across Europe, giving us plenty of reasons and opportunities to pack our bags and explore.

Rediscovering photography

Photography became a renewed passion in 2024. I invested in better gear and tools and teamed up with my husband to pursue my teenage dream of becoming a photographer. We’ve already had several photoshoots and are eager to do more in 2025. Launching our website with a thoughtful content strategy and potentially exploring wedding photography are exciting possibilities for the future.

But it’s not only about portraits, I have also learned to take the camera with me everywhere I go and shoot whatever I find beautiful and interesting. And not be scared to share them online (@gius.foodpics, @gius.dolcevita), because in the end it’s a form of self-expression and my point of view won’t always be everyone’s taste.

Looking Ahead to 2025

Balancing act

With my daughter starting daycare, I hope to find a better balance between work, life, and studies, especially as I prepare for my master’s thesis. This year, I’ll explore whether I can thrive in developer relations without a development background and aim to secure my first conference speaking opportunity.

Photography goals

While I’m optimistic about scheduling more photoshoots, time constraints might make this challenging. Thankfully, this passion project isn’t a necessity but a creative outlet. Success in this space is a bonus, with no pressure of deadlines.

Health first

As the year winds down, holiday stress and deadlines and my daughter’s teething led to neglecting healthy habits. The effects have been noticeable in my energy levels and skin health. With the new year, I’m recommitting to a sugar-free lifestyle, as we did at the end of 2023 when my husband’s health challenges inspired our journey toward better living.

Expanding my blog

One of my goals for 2025 is to expand and leverage my online portfolio blog. I plan to share more insights and learnings from my work in content strategy and my studies. Additionally, I’m considering branching out into topics like helping non-techies break into the tech industry and exploring health-related subjects. By broadening the scope of my blog, I hope to create a platform that resonates with a wider audience while staying true to my experiences and expertise.

Travel

With studies, work, and childcare needs—especially since daycare follows the standard school calendar and will close multiple times throughout the year—I’m uncertain about what 2025 holds for travel. One plan is already set: in May, we’ll head to Serbia to celebrate the wedding of dear friends.

Beyond that, our travel plans are still forming. We’ve tossed around the idea of another trip to England and perhaps a road trip in September after I’ve submitted my thesis. For now, it’s an open book, which makes the possibilities all the more exciting!