December started fizzling. I came back from a month-long trip to Mexico (which was amazing!) and fell head-first into a training week for work. It was fun and I learnt a lot, but getting back into my routine was also pleasant after hopping from one place to another for a month. As December always goes, it went by in a flash: I got back into the groove of work, caught up with friends, went to a very nice Christmas market with Maikel, and spent the holidays with family.
Since I'm reflecting on the year anyway (it's December after all), I thought I'd share some of the notes that are fleeting around in my head at the moment.
My personal website design now has a v1.2
This month also sparked a lot of personal website inspiration for me. I changed some of the design. It now:
- Has a serif font for some of the H1 headings, because I wanted more personality?
- There's more color and contrast
- I revamped the single blog post layout to make it more readable
- Text in general is bigger and bolder, because I wanted to make it more expressive
I still am not 100% sure about the design and will probably change it all again in a few months, but that's also what I like about this. My digital playground. I'm still a beginner when it comes to web design, so I'm taking a lot of inspiration from others and trying stuff out. It does help that I now also created 2 websites for people in my close circle, so that gives me even more opportunity to experiment.
What's on my mind to experiment with next when it comes to this personal website:
- Do I want a digital garden? Pro: I love the idea of writing more, publishing ideas that aren't fully finished yet, and seeing links forming between my thoughts. And this blog maybe seems a bit too formal for tiny notes. Con: Why would it be any different than this blog? Maybe I should commit to a regularly writing practice first.
- I want to try building more small apps. With Claude code, I feel more confident to try building things.
- Sometimes I struggle with my varying interests. I am obsessed with the indie internet, internet culture, creativity on the web, new ways of social media. Those topics also feel more in line with my job as a data scientist and have a more general tech focus. On the other hand, I would like to explore other interests such as cooking, travelling, and lifestyle tips. It feels like a weird mix. The everlasting dilemma being a generalist while the entire internet tells you to choose a niche.
- I am having so much fun with finding other people's personal websites and blogs. Should I make a list of these? Or would that just require too much maintenance?
Open tabs
As for the last bullet point, here's a small topic of personal websites that are currently in my open tabs:
- Anh, her weeknotes actually inspired me for this december write-up. Also, go see her media recaps!!
- Ava, she writes about tech and creative/coding projects. She inspires me that it's okay to not write a full essay, but just keep on consistently adding to what you write about.
- James, I love his writing about the indie web
- Ana Rodriguez, found her via James. She also writes about the indie web, among other things.
- Rafal Pastuszak, and make sure to make your way to his digital garden. He makes apps that are in the core something he would like to use himself, and then turn out to help a lot of other people too. Check out his writing and meditation app.
- Andy Matuschak, found him via Rafal. His working notes (sort of digital garden) are fascinating and he has a strong opinion about how important it is to think effectively and work on writing evergreen notes instead of fleeting notes. I'm still figuring this out, so just make sure to read his work.
- Thomas Moes, and then specifically his 52 weeks of obsessions
- Lotte den Adel, this website/portfolio is so creative!!
I wanted to include the direct paths I remembered to find some of these links because that is the charm of the indie web. My favorite feeling is falling into one of these rabbit holes.
Committing to more creativity
The year of 2025 had a large focus on re-finding my creativity. I learned how to crochet, I designed two photo albums, I made some objectively very ugly little paintings, I wrote more, and I got back into video editing. Overall, I feel like I made a lot of progress this year in terms of being more expressive and creative.
My goal for 2026 is to continue this trend. I think I would benefit most from getting over this paralyzing perfectionism and making more stuff. And sharing it! (See also: Working with the garage door open)