2024: The Builder Year in Dubai
Age 13 turning 14 in December. First full year in Dubai, at Jebel Ali School. More projects, more people, more of everything. The pace just kept picking up.
Settling Into Dubai
Being the new kid is never easy, but Dubai is a city where everyone is from somewhere else, so it actually felt natural. Jebel Ali School became my base. I started building new friendships — Param, Prateem, Garvit, Omar, Divesh, Reuben — while keeping the Oman connections alive through WhatsApp and Instagram. The Dubai circle was forming.
Birthday Party Season
2024 had some legendary birthdays that became core memories:
- Bhanni's Birthday — June 18 to June 25, the planning and celebrations stretched over a whole week
- Vedu's Birthday — May 25 through September 10, this one had a long tail of conversations and plans
- Nysa's Birthday — August 15 to August 27, another multi-day event with the full crew
These were not just parties — they were the moments that cemented friendships. The kind of nights you talk about for years. See Birthday Parties for the full rundown.
Among Us Gaming Era
May to June 2024, Among Us gaming sessions became a whole vibe. Group calls on Discord, pure chaos, betrayals, sus accusations, rage quits, and emergency meetings about nothing. It was our way of staying connected, especially with friends who were not in Dubai. Classic multiplayer bonding — you learn a lot about people when they are trying to convince you they are not the impostor.
Nasa Reunion
May 30 to June 7 — the Nasa Reunion happened and it was special. Old friends, new stories, and that collision of "wow we have all grown up" with "wow nothing has actually changed." When you reconnect with people you have history with, it just hits different. The conversations picked up exactly where they left off.
India vs Pakistan — Adrasteia
June 8 to June 11 — the India vs Pakistan event connected to the Adrasteia programme. This was a big deal. Blending competition, culture, and community. It was one of those events that showed me how powerful it is when you bring people together around something they care about.
Group Chat Chaos Continues
The group chat culture from 2023 kept evolving:
- April to September — The "poop group" was peak chaos
- May to June — Nasa reunion group chat buzzing
- Velle Log — active and chaotic as always
LockIn Concept Forming
This is when LockIn started as an idea. I was tired of getting distracted by my phone while trying to study. Social media was eating my focus. And I figured — if I have this problem, literally everyone my age has this problem. What if there was an app that made the cost of doomscrolling tangible? What if you had to do push-ups to unlock your phone? The concept was forming, the wireframes were starting, and I knew this was going to be different from Tipp. This time, I was solving my own problem first.
The Bigger Picture
2024 was a settling year. I was finding my footing in Dubai, building new friendships while maintaining old ones, and starting to think about what my next real product would be. The birthday parties and gaming sessions were building the social foundation, while the LockIn concept was building the product foundation. Both mattered equally.
See also: LockIn | Birthday Parties | Nasa Reunion | Adrasteia | Among Us GC | Dubai Friends