My 2025

It’s the end of 2025. I’ve reached an age where adulthood has begun. I’m no longer the student I have been throughout my life. As I navigate this new chapter, I thought of rewinding and reflecting on what I have done throughout the year. Perhaps, this will serve as a memory wall and a motivation towards the new year.

I was entering my last term of undergraduate at UBC at the start of 2025. Nerves kicked in. I needed to get a job to increase my chances of staying in Canada long term. I would be lying if I say I do not plan to live in Canada for the foreseeable future with what’s going on back home. I have yet to meet another Burmese who wants to return home after they graduate. It’s just how it works for an international student from a third world country.

Everyday in class, I would hear people talking about what’s lined up for them once they graduate. It was a humbling experience but it hurt deep down. I had nothing lined up, and applying randomly on all platforms was getting me nowhere. Contacting my previous manager from the co-op didn’t help much either as they had no positions opened. Little did I know that the company was about to go through a restructuring later in the year which got some of my old coworkers laid off and others left.

I only had 3 courses in my last term, which I deliberately chose so I could press more on the job search. Whenever I could, I was leetcoding while juggling the coursework that was a little harder than I expected. Of course, failing a class was never in my thoughts, but if that happened, it would have messed up my status in Canada so I could not afford to fail. I applied and applied, and the final exams came around in April. I passed all, and now that I have fulfilled all the requirements, I was set for graduation in May. I still didn’t know what I was going to do after graduation.

My parents and my uncle came here for my graduation. It was good to see them back after a year. To be fair, I have only seen them once since I left Myanmar. We spent a good amount of time here and got to travel to Banff for a few days. I had only been to Banff once and that was 4 years ago so it’s always great to be back at this wonderful place.

While they were here, I got an invitation from Amazon to do the final stage interviews. It came out of nowhere. I applied back in February and did an assessment in March, but since it had been quite a while, I thought my opportunity was gone but turned out not. I cancelled the rest of the planned trip with my parents to pretty much lock in for the two weeks ahead. This was my only shot at the time and I could not afford to let it go.

And, I ended up getting the offer a month after the invitation. My consistent preparation since last year along with the lock-in got me the offer. It felt incredible; like a massive weight just dropped off my shoulders. Perhaps, I was lucky too; just one shot and I ended up getting it.

I had a month of free time before I started working. I went near Whistler for some dayhiking, attended a networking event from TCN and that’s pretty much what I did outdoorsy. Most importantly, I started picking up French. In short, Canada gives international students 3 years of work permit - you either get PR within that timeframe to remain in the country or you leave. The maximum score one can get with an education in Canada + no foreign work experience is 510. The cutoff score for PR hovering at the time was around 535. It’s a pipe dream for many, and there are only a few options to make the cut; either learn French to boost by 50 extra points or marry a Canadian citizen. The second option is not for me, so I’m left with learning French. One good thing is the scores are dropping these days and the last cutoff was 515 so I really hope it remains that way for a year or two more.

I started working in mid August. I got the job in the Gift Cards department, working on really cool things around gift cards processing. I’m surrounded by very intelligent people; it’s always great to learn from them. I got to work on an interesting onboarding project followed by a customer impacting feature which I am working on currently and will be launched sometime next year. It’s exciting to foresee how customers will use the feature that my coworkers and I are implementing!

Looking back, I’ve had many ups and downs. There were more wins in my opinion but the lows were detrimental. In the last few months, I went back to UBC for some events, and got to talk to people there who will be in my shoes one day. I really love giving people advice and suggestions because I have gone through what they will go through, and I know exactly what it will take for them to succeed.

My suggestions are simple; no matter what major you are in, if you plan to stay in Canada long term, get some experience through internships, then secure a return offer. Don’t bother applying cold because it’s extremely hard these days and luck plays a big role. Another is to learn French. With what the Canadian government has decided, they will focus on French speaking people for at least 3-4 years, so preparing for it before school will get you ahead of the rest once you graduate.

On the other hand, I’ve gone back to gym, not as often, but there’s at least some effort. I have gained an immense weight in the last year and it’s only going up. Before I become obese, I need to make sure I stay fit and not go over the limit. I also stay in touch with friends and people from UBC, my old roommates, UBC Myanmar Community, CS friends and so on. People say that life after university will become a lot less social which is true. Apart from the people you knew, you wouldn’t meet other new people as often as you did back in school. Perhaps, I need to go to networking events more often where I will meet people. I’ve gone to two since I got the job; but I think I need to attend more.

With all these reflections, I also like to look into the future ahead. There are a few things I would like to accomplish in the next year. First and most important, I want to be at a comfortable B1 level for French by September 2026. I think it’s doable. I have just started A2 now and B1 in 8 months is definitely possible in my opinion. Obviously, I want to get the French exam done by the start of 2027, but the future is uncertain. At least, this is what I have in mind.

Also, with all the vacation time accrued, I want to go to Thailand, then go on a vacation with my friends in Singapore for a week perhaps. Fingers crossed, I will get to see them next year! Mexico is on my list too since it’s easy to get there. Of course, I need to get better at work too, working on projects that will help tackle customers’ problems.

And that’s the wrap of my 2025 reflection. I hope to come back to this next year. Au revoir!