ORMs are lovely, they can help you speed up a lot, but they shouldn't pretend SQL doesn't exist and I'll explain why.
Distributed systems promise scalability and flexibility, but they come with a cost. Once you cross that boundary, everything gets harder.
Most architectural problems are boundary problems. Knowing where to draw the line, and when to redraw it, is one of the hardest parts of building software systems.
Synchronous and asynchronous communication are not opposing choices, they are complementary tools. Understanding when to use each is key to building scalable systems.
Data events and domain events both have their place, but mixing them is one of the fastest ways to create confusion in event-driven systems.