The personal blog of Andrew Mitchellhttps://andrewsblog.rocks/en-UShttps://andrewsblog.rocks/posts/reflecting-on-2024/https://andrewsblog.rocks/posts/reflecting-on-2024/Reflecting on my 2024 - full of changes, challenges, and growth.Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMTAs we step into 2025, reflecting on the past year feels essential. 2024 was monumental for me, arguably more eventful than the previous five years combined, which included my college life. I experienced significant growth in my faith throughout the year. Although I had previously accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I formally got baptized at the start of the year, marking a significant step in my faith journey. I also improved my habits around praying and reading the Bible, making time daily to pray and read scripture as well as keeping a prayer list so I remember everything I want to pray for. I also got even more connected into my church community through events, small groups, volunteering, and fellowship/friendships. I concluded the year by going on a mission trip to Cuba, which was a life-changing experience. It was also a big leap of faith for me, as I had never been on a mission trip, had never been outside the United States, and had never even been on an airplane before. But the Lord called me to go, and I’m very glad I did, and I hope I get to go again in the future. I experienced a lot of personal growth. I started the year by getting my own apartment, my first time living on my own for an extended period of time (i.e., not living with roommates or family). I also started the year changing jobs, where I primarily worked remotely and was the only person in my role at the company. I adopted my dog Maya, marking the start of my journey as a pet parent. I experienced some losses for the first time as well, including my first layoff from a job and my first time experiencing the loss of a close family member with the passing of my grandpa Ron. These events have helped me grow into the man I am now, having fortified my character and faith. Beyond these pivotal experiences, I also saw growth in other areas like relationships & friendships, learning new skills, fitness & nutrition, and other areas. Overall, although not every moment has been great, this has been a fantastic year of growth for me, and I feel like a much different person than I was at the beginning. Here's to a year of continued growth, purpose, and faith in 2025. I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, often seeing them as unattainable or too rigid. Instead, I like to set broad goals for personal growth: - Learn to say no more often. I’m someone who is naturally very curious (leading to having lots of hobbies, interests, sideprojects, etc.), entrepreneurial (often working on my sidebusiness), enjoys being helpful (so I almost always try to help when I can), and am blessed to have many friend groups and communities (i.e., often doing lots of social activities). That is to say, I'm usually very, very busy. My biggest goal for 2025 is better time management, and in particular, learning to say no more often and prioritize my time better between the things I say yes to. - Get out of my comfort zone more often. I’m a natural introvert, which results in not wanting to do things that are outside my comfort zone (things like public speaking, being in large crowds, going to events where I don’t know many people, etc.). I’ve grown a lot in this area over the years, but I still have a lot to go. - During my recent mission trip to Cuba, one of the things I felt the Lord tell me is to use my voice more and with purpose. Again, this goes against my introverted nature, but I do think it’s the next big step for me, though it’s certainly a leap of faith. I’m starting on this goal by co-leading a young adults small group at my church. It’s open to all, and we’d love to have you: Group A11 at 4C, Wednesday evenings starting Jan. 29! - Be more disciplined. While I'm generally disciplined, I struggle with maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, especially as a natural night owl. I’ve started doing daily bible study & workout at 6am with some of my church friends (shout out Daniel and Caleb), which I hope holds me accountable to following my 9pm–5am sleep schedule.https://andrewsblog.rocks/posts/what-im-thankful-for-2024/https://andrewsblog.rocks/posts/what-im-thankful-for-2024/Reflecting on my blessings in 2024.Thu, 28 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTIt's Thanksgiving here in the US. For many, the best part of the holiday is Thanksgiving dinner. My favorite part is the opportunity to reflect on the year and share all that I'm thankful for. This year I'm thankful for: I'm thankful for my faith. I'm thankful to the Father for creating us, sending Christ to save us, and for always being there for us. This year has been a huge year of spiritual growth for me, and this is by far what I'm most thankful for. ♥✝ I'm thankful for never struggling to stay fed and hydrated. While many of us are staying warm at home enjoying Thanksgiving dinner tonight, it's important to remember that many struggle daily to stay nourished. This is an issue I've seen firsthand here in the US, but it's also a major issue worldwide. I witnessed firsthand how widespread it is on my recent mission trip to Cuba. If you have the means, I highly recommend donating to a food bank network such as Feeding America (https://www.feedingamerica.org/) or volunteering at a local food bank. I'm thankful for always having a roof over my head. Homelessness is a major issue across the United States and throughout the world. This is a major issue, especially here in the Northern US, where the temperatures get so cold during the winter that those without shelter can quickly die of exposure. I haven't told this story to anybody, but earlier this year the Lord introduced me to a neighbor a few blocks away who was caring for their elderly mother who was on her deathbed due to cancer, and as a result this person struggled with food poverty. They struggled to even get to work because they had to sell their car to help with the medical bills. Shortly after their mother passed, they became homeless. It was clear to me that the Lord put this person into my life because they needed assistance, and the Lord has blessed me to be able to help provide it. They told me repeatedly they were so grateful for all I was doing because they had no one else to help them. Yet I wish I was able to do more. I didn't tell this story to anyone until now because I feel good deeds should be done without seeking praise, but this story is fitting here because you never know who's struggling. It's not just people on the other side of the world; it's people in your community too. Had the timing been a few minutes different, I never would have crossed paths with this person, and I wouldn't have known that someone just a few blocks from me was struggling so heavily. I'm thankful that the Lord gave me the means and opportunity to help this person. I'm thankful for the time and place in which I live and the opportunities that have been provided to me. Here in the United States at least, we live in one of the freest, safest, and healthiest times in history. I'm not a slave or indentured servant, forced to labor away on a farm for little to no pay. I don't live in the dark ages where I was likely to die of disease. I'm not stuck in Nazi-occupied Europe facing oppression and death, or in the Soviet Union facing mass famine, starvation, and death. We face problems in modern times, sure, but these tend to be relatively minor compared to what many people have faced throughout history or even in other areas of the world right now. I can choose to pursue any career I want, not locked into some caste-like system or command economy where your job is inherited or chosen for you. I can enjoy whatever hobbies I want. I'm not being forced to fight in a war or suffering the effects of a war-torn country. I can practice my faith openly without fear of persecution or oppression. These things should not be taken for granted, and I'm so thankful for them. I'm thankful for my health. As a healthy young man, health is not something I often think about. I just got over a flu that lasted a little over a week or so, and that's really the worst I've been sick in a long time (that is to say, not very sick). However, recent events have reminded me how lucky I am to be healthy. My grandpa Ron is on his deathbed (complications from being a lifelong smoker) and will be lucky to survive another week or two. This is a good reminder that health is not forever, and I am thankful and blessed to be in good health. I'm thankful for my family. I often hear people say they wish they had a different family, but I've never felt that way. While my family and I definitely have our issues, I love them and am very thankful to call them my family. After faith, the next most important thing to me is family, and I've been blessed with the family I have. I'm thankful for my friends and community. The Lord has been very generous to me. Despite being an introvert, I have many close friends of many different types and personalities. I think friends shape you as a person more than anything else, and I believe a big part of the mental health issues facing our country today stem from people not having many true friends. When I faced a job layoff a few months ago, many of my friends reached out to support me and have been praying for me. I am beyond grateful to all of you. I am also thankful for the communities I'm in, from my amazing church community to the men's/small groups I'm in, and all the other communities I'm involved in. I'm very grateful to all of you! Finally, I'm thankful for the personal growth I've experienced this year. There's so many other things I'm thankful for, but this is already lengthy, so I need to end it somewhere. This has been the biggest year of my life, with more milestones and changes than the last 5 years combined. I've had significant growth in my faith, career, personal life, friendships, and more. I plan to reflect on this more come New Year, so I'll leave it at that for now. The Lord has used this year to make countless positive changes in my life, and I am beyond blessed. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!https://andrewsblog.rocks/posts/cuba-mission-trip-2024/https://andrewsblog.rocks/posts/cuba-mission-trip-2024/Reflecting on my November 2024 mission trip to Cuba.Wed, 20 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTI don't post much here, but I figured this was worth sharing and reflecting on. I recently returned from a mission trip to Cuba. This was a lot of firsts for me: first mission trip, first time traveling out of the country (I didn't even have a passport before this trip), and first time flying. But I felt called by the Lord to go, and I'm glad I did - it was an incredible experience, and I'm truly blessed to have had the opportunity to go. During my time there, I had the privilege of connecting with some of the most resilient, loving, and faithful people I've ever met. I was only there for 7 days, but I now consider many of these people family. We may not be from the same country or even speak the same language, but we worship the same savior, and there is something so powerful in that. Cuba is going through difficult times; much of the trip was marked by sudden and long-lasting power outages. The country was in a nationwide blackout when we arrived (driving 3 hours in complete darkness is a surreal experience) and then had daily blackouts the entire time we were there. Much of the country struggles with severe food poverty. And Christians in Cuba are continually oppressed and persecuted by the authorities there, as the government wants to be the sole power/authority over its people. I am humbled by the strength of the Cuban people; despite these and the many other challenges they face daily, they continue to find joy in faith, family, and community. Their passion for worship and service was contagious, and it deepened my understanding of what it means to love and serve selflessly. My heart is overflowing with gratitude and inspiration. I hope I get the opportunity to return in the future, and in the meantime I will be continually praying for conditions in Cuba to improve. ♥🇨🇺 P.S. I'm back-posting this on my blog months after I originally posted it on social media. I'm not including the images here, but you can find them on my [original LinkedIn post](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/realandrew_i-dont-post-much-here-but-i-figured-this-activity-7265117242609025024-MlpA).https://andrewsblog.rocks/posts/hello-world/https://andrewsblog.rocks/posts/hello-world/Welcome to my blog!Sat, 02 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMTUpdate 4/19/25: I revamped the site, and as part of that I removed some outdated material. Also, I'm now a realtor, so expect some real-estate related content here as well. This is the personal blog of [Andrew Mitchell](https://andrewjmitchell.com/). I created it so I can share my thoughts on various topics. I'm a programmer (mostly self-taught but I have a BCS from Wright State University as well), and so most posts here will either be about personal matters or programming related (though expect the occasional post to not fit into those constraints). I do write about other topics that interest me as well. I don't want to write a full bio of who I am here, but I'll summarize the big picture. I'm a computer programmer, just graduating from WSU at the end of April 2022. I'm interested in many things from computers/tech to space, history, business, and more. I expect to mainly use this blog to write about projects I'm working on, interesting things I've been thinking about, etc. Content will be short form (most posts will be 5 - 15 minute reads), and completely free with no ads. I don't currently have a comments system (not a huge fan of Disqus), but will consider adding one in the future. If you need to reach me, check out the [contact section](https://andrewjmitchell.com/contactme.html) of my website or just send me a [tweet](http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%40andrewmreal). P.S. If you haven't noticed the sun/moon icon at the top lets you toggle between the light and dark theme.