My Coding Birthday

One year ago today, I reluctantly opened an account on Codecademy.com wondering if maybe this whole programming business that John and Lindsey were so obsessed with was worth a try. That night I had quite a shock: coding was not only fun, but thrilling! I laughed maniacally like an evil scientist every time I watched the words and symbols I wrote come alive.

One year later, I am a Hackbright alum, a contracting monkey of surveys, a teacher of JavaScript, a Woman in Tech, and one happy lady engineer! It took a LOT of help to get where I am, but I bootstrapped my career. I learned a lot, worked my butt off, faced my fears, and beat the odds. I will always keep learning - that is something all software engineers must do. But I intend to do more than just that.

The Women in Tech community is overwhelmingly supportive and giving. But the number of women who are just now discovering how great programming is (and how great they are at programming) is staggering. And they will need just as much support as I did if they are going to bootstrap their careers. I wish I could give every one of them what my instructors, mentors, and classmates gave me during and after Hackbright. I will certainly do as much as I can. More on that to come.

How am I celebrating my coding birthday? In bed, sick. It's ok though. I have a hot pink sherpa blanket, two fuzzy dogs, and a good book to keep me company until John gets home.

Have a good night, everypony!