2020, a retrospective.

A year when the world turned upside down

I still remember on December 31, 2019 when I was on a FaceTime with Hallen, wishing each other Happy New Year as we were counting down for the new year. Then the new year hit, along with a flurry of “Happy New Year” messages among friend and families. It seemed like just another new year. I was looking forward to catching up with my friends more, thinking about new places I want to travel, and probably another usual retrospective at the end of the year.

But little did I know that this year would be different. Little did I know I was stuck at home for pretty much the entire year. Little did I know the best way to catch up with friends would be through Discord or Zoom. Little did I know I now need to remember to bring a mask just like keys when I do end up going out. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world upside down and changed everyone’s lives for the worse.

I’m at a no place to complain, however. I’m probably one of the luckiest few who are safe and sound, working from the comfort of my home without the risk of exposure to the virus. As I wrap up this truly unprecedented year, I want to take the time to feel thankful for where I am today, for the privileges that I’ve had, and look forward to a better new year.

I’m thankful for where I am today.

The biggest change this year was a transition to a full-remote work. Now that I’ve been working from home since March, I can say that full WFH isn’t the best. I surely don’t miss the dreadful hour-long commute everyday, but I for sure miss the vibrant office where I can see everyone brainstorm (read: bikeshed) freely with coworkers. Ideally, it’d be half WFH / half in-office so I hope that happens next year. I also want to thank Discord for their incredible support during this time with WFH funds, wellness funds, and a bunch of gift boxes throughout the year. They truly went out of their way to look out for their employees during this time, and I feel thankful and inspired by their support.

I was able to make a lot of impact and grow a lot as a designer this year. Here are some of the highlights of my work at Discord in 2020:

• Android app redesign and concluding the Mobile Objection Squad
• Launched Communities and started building features to empower community creators and members, including Server Discovery and Membership Screening.
• Started working on Messaging squad to improve the text chat experience on Discord, starting off with Inline Replies.

This August, I also became the first Staff Product Designer at Discord. I’m incredibly humbled and excited to reach this milestone in my career. I’d like to thank everyone that helped me get here — this wouldn’t have been possible without the team that I work with everyday today, and in the past. I still have a lot to learn. I’m still soul searching, trying to find a long term vision for myself at the intersection of technology, design, and entrepreneurship. I look forward to pushing myself more next year and grow more as a designer.

I’m also glad that I got to help the society during this unprecedented time. I worked on COVID-19 Fact Check with Hallen and a group of UCSF medical students to combat misinformation around the virus. I’m always excited about opportunities to use technology and design as a means of lowering the barrier to entry for the general public. Making medical knowledge more accessible is one of these opportunities. I feel fortunate to be featured in San Francisco Chronicle and KRON radio, which helped spread information to more people. I look forward to continue to work on COVID-19 Fact Check next year, with updated information on the safety of vaccines.

Finally, I am thankful to be surrounded by loving supporters:

• My family: Unfortunately, I had to cancel my plan to visit them this January, due to a spike in Korea as well. I still get to talk to them via video (can you imagine what this pandemic would’ve been like if it happened in 2000s? or even before?) and lucky to hear they are safe and healthy. Hopefully next year we get to see each other soon.
• Hallen: We didn’t get to go “out” as much, but it was during this time that we got to understand and care for each other more than ever. I feel fortunate to have someone I can share my day with everyday, let out my anxiety and stress from the pandemic & politics, and enjoy new hobbies! This year we binge watched tons of K-Dramas and Avatar, cook a lot more, and became even more of potatoes. I feel fortunate to have her by my side and I’m looking forward to our new chapter next year!
• My friends: Originally my goal this year was to reach out and catch up more with my friends. Unfortunately, the whole situation made it more difficult, but it still gives me no excuse for not reaching out to them first, even online. Not replying to messages and emails promptly is one of my biggest weaknesses. I’ll try to be better and look out for my friends more next year. Hope everyone is safe and maybe next year we get to catch up in person!

This year made me reflect on the privileges that I have.

2020 shed light on a lot of the injustice and social inequality in the world. It was only now that really made me reflect on how much privilege I’ve had as a person. There was tremendous amount of luck that played a role in shaping where I am today. I am privileged because:

• I was raised in a financially stable, well-off family, and both of my parents are happily married.
• My parents paid for everything until I graduated from college.
• I never had to worry about being discriminated because of my gender or sexuality.
• I never had to worry about my health.
• …just to name a few.

If life is a 5-mile marathon, some people start at the starting line, while others start a mile ahead, or even more because of the wealth, gender, and race they are born in. Success doesn’t just come from effort — there’s also tremendous amount of luck involved. While it’s just as wrong to attribute success on sheer luck and privilege, it’s definitely wrong to shame people’s circumstances on just lack of effort.

I believe in a true meritocracy — given equal opportunity, those who work hard and contribute more to the society should be rewarded. Unfortunately, our society today doesn’t really allow for equal opportunity. Many people can’t realize their dreams because they can’t pay for their school. Many people can’t work because of disabilities. Many people are treated and compensated unfairly because of their gender and race. Many people can’t afford to think about “paying back” or “contributing” to the society, plan their career, or think about long-term goals because they just need to think about tomorrow: to survive and make a living.

We as a society need to work together to fix this leveled playing field and strive to give everyone equal opportunity to realize their full potential, so that people can be rewarded fairly based on their contributions. I want to do what I can within the realms of my capability to help bridge the gap between not just human and technology, but also between the various gaps within our society: education, wealth, health, and more.

PC: Abhi Kalakuntla

Here’s to 2021

As we move on from this heck of a year, I set a few goals for myself next year to continue to improve myself:

• Care more about people around me: I tend to focus on myself, and I need to change that. Reach out to my friends to catch up, how they are doing, and look out for them more. Think about not just my own growth, but also the entire team and the company. Brainstorm ideas and think about ways we can use technology as a means of bridging the various gaps in our society. I can shave off some time thinking about new couches or playing League and take the time to think about others.
• Don’t procrastinate: I have big issues with procrastinating. I tend to postpone cleaning, cooking, or heck waking up on the weekends — I honestly rarely saw the sunlight this holiday season. I postpone responding to messages unless they are urgent. I postpone even simple things like posting on Instagram. Next year, when I “think” of something, I won’t slack off and put into action immediately. I believe that anyone can bee successful, if only they were able to execute on their thoughts. I just need to get to work and not procrastinate.
• Step outside of my comfort zone: Over the last few years, I realized that I am being comfortable with where I am right now. I feel like I’m losing the sense of “hunger” from college. I worked day and night tirelessly on a scrappy startup, Iris. I went out of my way to meet so many new people. I learned new concepts and skills every day. These days, I feel like I’m sticking to what I’m comfortable with and what I’m good at. I keep focusing on product design on Figma. I hang out with my closest group of friends. Eat, Work, Some form of entertainment — games, tv shows, etc, Sleep, Repeat. I need to step out of my comfort zone and be hungry again. I should brainstorm the next big thing, or how to contribute best to the society with my friends. I should keep up with my friends more, people who reach out to me, and reach out to inspiring people in the community as well. I should even learn new skills or hobbies.
  Never settle. Stay hungry.

“Happy New Year” feels especially real this year. I look forward to next year where perhaps we can all meet in person again. Stay safe, and I sincerely hope 2021 would be a good one.