Markets had been on the radar since 2017 — modest positions, slower instruments, learning the language. But 2020 was the year everything changed: larger exposure, first leveraged ETFs, real skin in the game. And the most volatile market in a generation to test it all against. The COVID crash and the fastest recovery in history didn't start the interest. They turned it into something deliberate.

A strong year with a clear theme — US oil & gas, through a single 3x leveraged ETF, in and out several times. The first time the positions had real weight and the decisions started to feel like decisions. Everything was still going up, which made it hard to separate skill from luck. But something shifted: the reading became more deliberate, the moves more considered, the results more meaningful. Not yet a process. But no longer just watching.

Difficult market, inevitable drawdowns — and one position that tested everything. A leveraged bet on tech, Mag7-style, right into the rate hiking cycle. Monetary policy tightened faster than most expected and narratives that had seemed unshakeable collapsed one by one. Watching paper losses mount, deep enough to reach the part of the ocean where the fish glow in the dark. Hard to breathe. But held. The most instructive year by far — learned more from what went wrong than from everything before it combined.

The year the process started to click. Fewer trades, more deliberate — re-entering tech at lower prices after 2022, adding US small caps and US banking to the mix. The reading became more patient, the sizing more intentional. Less reactive, more selective. Another positive year — and the one where something quietly settled.

The universe widened — not for the sake of it, but because the macro reading had become specific enough to justify it. For the first time, individual names alongside the leveraged ETFs — mega-cap tech, bonds, small caps, financials, and an inverse play on China. Different theses, different horizons, running in parallel. It was also the year of serious reading — first real exposure to technical analysis and the idea of combining it with fundamentals. One of those individual names was entered on a textbook chart pattern. Beginner's luck, perhaps. But the kind that teaches something real. Also tried day trading for the first time. Learned a great deal about myself — emotionally, behaviourally — but ultimately concluded it wasn't for me. More activity rarely means better decisions. Closed the year positive regardless, and ahead of 2023.

The clearest year yet — and the most concentrated. Almost entirely in a single leveraged semiconductor ETF, a theme that had been building in the macro backdrop for months. The ride wasn't smooth — there were moments that tested the conviction — but held through the volatility and came out the other side. The results were the strongest to date, nearly matching everything from the previous years combined. Not without some noise — a brief detour into crypto-adjacent territory that fortunately ended up marginally positive. But the most important decision of the year happened early: stopping day trading. The focus that returned with it made everything else sharper.