2025 – A Year That Changed Me
2025 was not a year I would have chosen for myself.
But it was a year that shaped me.
At the beginning of the year, I suffered a vertebral fracture.
Not a good start, not a good situation. And yet, with exactly this injury, I began my training as a Cybersecurity Expert. Not out of defiance, but because giving up has never been a real option for me.
During the training, another diagnosis followed: osteoarthritis in my shoulder.
Toward the end of the year came the suspicion of heart failure.
From a health perspective, this year was a real challenge – physically and mentally.
At the same time, my degree of disability was increased to 60 and recognized permanently.
That is not a label anyone wishes for. But it is reality, and I have learned not to deny it anymore, but to deal with it responsibly.
Despite everything:
I passed all my exams.
I didn’t just endure the highs and lows – I truly mastered them.
And even though it sometimes makes me sad that this path has not yet led to a permanent position, I know today: that does not diminish the value of this journey.
On the contrary.
I completed projects I am proud of.
My VPN book is finished.
Work that required discipline, depth, and perseverance has come to a conclusion.
And I took a new step:
I started building a small side business, consciously and deliberately, as preparation for 2026. Not rushed, not naive, but well considered.
When I look back on this year, I do not see failure.
I see a person who has carried a lot.
Who fell and got back up again.
Who learned to take his limits seriously without letting them define him.
What I Wish for 2026
For 2026, I wish for nothing unrealistic.
I wish for work – meaningful, appreciative, and fitting.
I wish for health – not perfect, but stable enough to shape my own life.
I wish to be able to make responsible decisions, professionally, for myself, and for others.
And I wish for peace.
Peace with God.
Peace with the people around me.
And peace with myself.
That is really all that is needed.
I leave 2025 not unscathed, but upright.
And that is exactly how I will enter 2026.
What 2025 has built within me will be allowed to show in 2026 what it was meant for.