End-of-year Reflection: 2022

Few are the times when one stops for just one second and thinks of what has been achieved throughout the year. Many are the times when one is buried in tasks, meetings, daily life issues and many other things that make us lose track of our achievements.

Some other times (just like it happened to me), we are accustomed to sleeping on recognizing our progress, and end up, instead, focusing on what we have not achieved or on the negative aspects, on how we didn't live up to someone's or to one's own expectations. That's right, the Imposter Syndrome is haunting again. But today, I'd like to kick that “monster” out and to tell him “I CAN,” “YOU'RE NOT HAUNTING ME ANYMORE.” It's not easy, it is a process, but I will put all my effort into achieving it.

---

2022 has been a year of DISCOVERY and GROWTH for me. Let me tell you why:

• DISCOVERY:
  

This year I had the opportunity of discovering myself a little more, of finding out what were my weaknesses and my strengths. I identified my weak spots to work on them and to find ways to fill out those missing spaces, but I also discovered those strong spots that I never knew I had, and I honed them so that I could offer them as values to my clients.

I also discovered communities filled with amazing people who share my passion for translation and video games, and to whom I can go whenever I need support and help.

Finally, I found my path as a professional; actually, I took the big step and entered that field, because the area had chosen me long before, when I was a teenager. I found my place as a video games localizer, and I couldn't be more happy about it.

• GROWTH:

This year I witnessed my biggest growth both at a personal and professional level. As regards the personal level, I could conquer so many fears, and I overcame my shyness, which allowed me to take so many opportunities and to ENJOY them.

I could also explore and exploit my abilities at university in my role as a Student-Assistant in two subjects: English Language II and Commercial Translation. I engaged even more with the students' learning processes, and helped them reach their academic goals. I couldn't have done this without my professor's encouragement and her pushing me to exceed my limits; she had more confidence in me than I had in myself, and I will always be grateful for that. This year I really felt so VALUED and RECOGNIZED that I can't put it in words. I had the pleasure of working on so many interesting projects, and to share these experiences with amazing teams. I really couldn't ask for more.

---

Wow, what a year. I tried to put into words what I'm feeling, although it is hard. Now, I'd like to share some of my achievements throughout 2022, at least the ones that had an impact on me as a person:

📢 I participated in the localization of 10 amazing and interesting games of multiple genres and platforms as a freelance translator.

📢 I participated in the localization, revision, and linguistic testing of 3 exciting and fun games with my incredible team of Translators' Tale Team.

📢 I was a speaker at the congress 3.º Congreso Internacional de Traducción e Interpretación de Lenguas Ibéricas «TRANSIBÉRICA». Such a valuable experience!

📢 My team and I carried out our research on gamification at university and presented our gamified experience based on Super Mario!

📢 I was invited to a 4-year research project on academic writing at university with an amazing team of experienced professors and linguists. So grateful and excited to start this journey!

📢 I was encouraged and invited to join as an Adjunct Professor in the two subjects I perform the role of Student-Assistant once I graduate from university (I'm almost there!)

---

Now that I've mentioned some highlights from my year, I just wanted to talk about COMPARISONS.

It is important for me to emphasize that you SHOULD NOT compare yourself to somebody else. I know it is hard when seeing someone else's achievements and success, but here I will give you some reasons not to feel discouraged by that:

💪 Everybody has a different JOURNEY, a different START, or a different PATH. No one person starts the same way somebody else does.

💪 Everybody has different ABILITIES, and different WEAKNESSES and STRENGTHS.

💪 Everybody has something different VALUES to offer to their clients, and those values make every person UNIQUE.

💪 Everybody can find GUIDANCE and INSPIRATION in somebody else's achievements and success. We can use that as a boost to engage even more with our processes and our paths towards our goals.

💪 Finally, and the most significant point for me, NOBODY knows how much time someone spent trying to achieve their goals. Just because we see someone being successful does not mean it was easy for them, so we should not assume anything.

---

I want to finish this article by encouraging anybody who reached this point to be CURIOUS, to be EAGER, to be WILLING to explore, to grow, and to discover. It takes time, but you can achieve all your goals. As Miley Cyrus once said:

"Life's a climb... but the view is great."

Thank you