Usually books have a foreword or preface, I’ll give you a forewarning: I’m a writer, I like words, Tolkien is my literary hero, and this may be longer than the average attention span. This is also my story, so if you stick it out until the end, you’re braver than they give you credit for. And thank you!
This journey, like all good journeys, starts with a turning point. One event that changes things and forces the main character out the door and into an adventure, sometimes, most of the time, against their will. In my case, it was a quiz result I didn’t expect and an audio book I almost didn’t listen to, but one that really made me think.
I’m normally shy and tend to stay in the background, but I’ve decided to try and push some of my limits and grow further than I have before. I’ve worked in a few varied fields, and currently I’m a computer repair technician at a small shop in a small town in the beautiful mountains. There are many things I love: my dog, coffee, books, music, writing, drawing… and computers. I was fortunate enough to land a job repairing software and hardware issues and really find out how much I enjoy working with these quirky machines, and their owners too. It opened my eyes to a career I hadn’t thought of before: the technology industry. I just didn’t think I was smart enough for all that computer stuff, even though I love playing video games on all kinds of platforms, and loved any chance I got to mess around with one, it was still a mystical box I would probably end up ruining if I messed with it.
I didn’t go to school to work on computers or even take any classes until now. I’ve just picked it up as I’ve gone along and gleaned whatever on the job training I could get. I ask a lot of questions. So in my quest for more training, I had stumbled across a few sites that I thought would help me achieve what I wanted. My goal was CompTIA A+ certification. Slowly but surely, I delved into more and more resources and finally fell right into the lap of a website called Skillcrush.com. If you haven’t heard of it, please check it out! It was there that I came across their little beauty of a career assessment quiz. After stressing over how I wanted to answer the questions and wondering if I was being too greedy if I said I wanted one of those nice higher salaries, I finally finished the thing. The result? Web design. Huh…. I thought to myself, That’s interesting. And then I pushed it aside, because that’s a job for smart, ambitious people, right? It was something I couldn’t do. Why? Because my insecurities told me it wasn’t possible. I listened to that little discouraging voice and walked away.
Then I came across something else that made me question that little voice. A book by Jen Sincero on Audible. You are a Badass: How to stop doubting your greatness and start living an awesome life.It is an awesome book. There were some things that really hit home, some that really tested the boundaries of what I thought I knew about myself, and some things I didn’t agree with 100%, but I understood her idea and what she meant.
So, why didn’t I think I was smart enough? Why did I always find myself employed in blue-collar jobs at minimum wage? Why did I always struggle between what I would like to do and what I could afford? Why am I my own worst enemy? Still battling the doubt and discouragement, I made a pact with myself to prove my destructively, demeaning self wrong. And here we find that girl in the glasses, starting her first set of courses through FreeCodeCamp.com (also check them out, they are Amazing!) and learning HTML, CSS and whatever else walks through that door.
My goals for the near future are to take some of Skillcrush’s web design and development blueprints, learn every code language I need to make this new career dream a reality, and see how far I can go with this adventure. Ultimately I’d like to get a job where I can work from home, or from anywhere in the world I find myself landing.
If you’re one of those “Too long, didn’t read” folks, here’s a summary of the important parts:
Coffee, books, my dog, computers, and writing are things I love. Like most people, I doubt myself a lot. I took an awesome quiz! I listened to a rad audio book! They both changed my perspective on what I could do with my life. So now I am avidly learning code and actively changing my self-perception.
thatgirlintheglasses 
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