2025: Enter the Ewoks
Before I get into anything serious, I just want to humble brag and let anyone reading this know that my year officially began with the destruction of the second Death Star. At 9:56:55pm Central Standard Time, I meticulously hit play on the Disney+ version of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. I have to tell you, it was the best way to end 2024. Luke Skywalker firmly refused the dark side of the Force, Darth Vader was redeemed, Palpatine kicked rocks (we’re not going to talk about how he somehow returned right now). As the clock switched from 11:59pm to 12:00am (actually 23:59 to 00:00, if we’re talking about my specific device), the Death Star went boom! All of Palpatine’s plans were foiled because he didn’t foresee the influence of the Ewoks—no really. Stop and think on it for a second. I think the moral of the story is that we need some Ewoks in 2025, and I’ve got mine, thankfully.
The iOS Community is largely my crowd of Ewoks. For years, they’ve been so kind to me, and it’s given me some of my very best friends. If you’re reading this and you’re involved in the iOS/Swift Community, I hope you’ll consider them your Ewoks too. I’ve never known such a large body of folks who hold themselves to the same standards of quality and kindness. The beautiful thing is that this isn’t the only community out there. Regardless of your industry, you can find your Ewoks! And I really hope that you’ll take a mindful minute in 2025 to assess the Ewoks you want to form lasting relationships with.
And now for a bit of news—this year I’m shipping an app of my own, and no, I did not just come up with it. I’ve spent the last two months really digging into it, and all the things I want it to do for its 1.0 release are in place—which means it would be an incredible waste of time to can it now. I’m aiming for a Spring release, which judging by any calendar, is actually quite soon. I’d say I’m equal parts nervous and excited, so maybe I should stick with Simon Sinek’s trick to see me through. It’s easy to be passionate about this app, though, because I feel I’ve finally had my “aha! I’m solving a real problem” moment. Long have I waited for an inspiration like that. If you’re a parent, I think you’re going to love it.
Apart from my solo app, I’m going strong with the contracts, and I feel that I’ve done some of my best work with some of these folks, and I simply cannot wait to have you experience for yourself what we’ve done. I abide strongly by the idea that if I’m not in charge of a project, it’s not my story to tell, but wow I’m struggling to keep my mouth shut.
That’s all for now. May the Force be with you.
