A look back at the rich tapestry of experiences that defined 2023 — personal milestones, professional growth, entrepreneurial ventures, community engagement, and resilience.
As the year concluded, I found myself reflecting on the rich tapestry of experiences that defined this transformative year — spanning personal, professional, and community domains.
2023 was a meaningful year on the personal front. I celebrated 14 years of marriage with my wife Amber — something I'm incredibly grateful for. I also finally addressed a long-standing sciatica issue through spinal injections, which made a real difference in my quality of life. On top of that, I achieved three months of sobriety and lost 29 pounds through the Carnivore Diet.
This year marked 11 years working with Laravel — a framework I genuinely love. I also began exploring prompt engineering with OpenAI and Claude, which opened up a whole new dimension of what's possible as a developer.
One of the biggest wins of the year: I finally acquired JordanDalton.com after a 13-year pursuit. That one felt good.
Beyond that, I launched several projects:
I started mentoring Laravel developers this year, which has been one of the most rewarding things I've done. The community response has been incredible. On social media, I grew my Twitter from 650 to 3,300 followers, built my YouTube channel to 1,290 subscribers, and reached readers across 100+ countries on the blog.
A huge thank you to Code With Dary, Sarthak, and Povilas Korop for their support and encouragement throughout the year. It means more than you know.
The year wasn't without its challenges. I navigated an unexpected layoff, which — while difficult — ultimately led me to a Head of Engineering role at Financial Cents. The Laravel community was a tremendous source of support through that transition.
Here's to the unwritten chapters of 2024!
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