A look back at 2021

Photo by Myriam Zilles / Unsplash

It has become a tradition that I publish a review at the end of each year.

Unlike previous years I really didn't set any goals at the end of last year because 2020 had been tough mentally.

Like most people I hoped that 2021 would be better. It still has been a difficult year, but for me it was certainly much better than 2020.

The vaccines were - as expected - not the magic solution but made life at least a little bit more normal. We didn't end up in full lock down again here in Belgium and we were able to see the people we love.

In August I got married, which was the highlight of the year. It was a fantastic day and after a difficult period it was wonderful to celebrate it with our close family and friends.

For the rest my year mainly consisted of combining working from home with family life. I kept myself sane by exercising as much as possible. Mid January I challenged myself to do 10,000 steps each day for the rest of the month.

I enjoyed it and after a while I thought, why not try to complete 10,000 steps every day for the rest of the years. It has been a great motivation and further helped to improve my fitness.

I ran 1.152 km in total this year and for the first time in a long time I participated in some 10 km races.

I also covered 4.563 kilometres by bike and on rest days I went for a walk.

My infosec related activities outside of work have been on the back burner this year. I've not been very active on Twitter and only wrote a few blogs this year.

Goals for 2022

Once again nothing too ambitious. Life itself is challenging enough. So I'll keep it as simple as possible.

Now I'm going to celebrate New Year's eve together with my wife and children and wish you a happy and healthy 2022. Cheers!

John Opdenakker

John Opdenakker

Blogger | #Infosec | #AppSec | Security awareness | Occasional Public Speaker | Cycling | Running | Enjoying life