The Triumph of Tenacity
Posted November 19, 2018
Tenacity is the ability to hang on when letting go appears most attractive. — author unknown
Changing Careers — Perception vs. Reality
Last year when I started down the road toward a new career, I knew there were obstacles ahead ... time, money, ageism, sexism, and attention span, just to name a few. But I set off anyway. After all, I've always rooted for the underdog, so why not BE the underdog!
I'd be lying if I said I knew it would be this hard to become a full-fledged developer. Confusing job descriptions, seemingly moving-target skill sets, baffling coding tests, disappointing runner-up finishes to internal candidates ... they've all taken the wind from my sails.
Luckily, for every one of those angst-ridden yins there's been a yang of redemption: Amazing, newbie-friendly organizations like Kansas City Women in Technology; great mentors like Mark Davis at realquantum who've helped me understand what's REALLY important about coding (hint: it ain't the Fizz Buzz test); and staying in touch with other nascent developers like Gloria Higley and Patrick Kearney. Watching their struggles — and triumphs — helps me remember I'm not alone.
Another positive aspect of my writer-to-developer journey has been this blog. I love writing it, and the feedback from it has been great. So I was surprised to see how quickly my newest post went from 10 days ago to two months back. True, I added my timeline in September. And I've been working two jobs playing catch up for the six months I was exclusively focused on coding. But updating my blog was still the nagging number-one thing on my to-do list.
To Do or To Let Go
Next thing I knew it wasn't just my blog that was outdated. Last week I was notified that the SSL certificate I worked so hard to acquire was about to expire. I flipped to another email, unsure if I even wanted to bother with recertifying a website nobody goes to anyway since I'm not blogging.
But then, a funny thing happened. Tenacity kicked in. And she was not happy.
You're done learning and growing and challenging yourself? That's not what you told me last year when we started this trip. You said you didn't care how long it took to find a developer role! You said investing in yourself had always been money well spent, and why should now be any different? All that work ... all those questions ... all that STUDYING! That was all so you could get turned down a few times and walk away?
It turns out I'm not ready to let my site security lapse. Or quit blogging about my journey. Or give up on being a developer. I've got Tenacity with a capital T! Not to mention problem-solving skills, empathy, bottomless desire to learn, and an insatiable desire to see where technology's going.
So hello, renewed SSL certificate! Bonjour, new blog post! As Ariana Grande would say, Thank u, next!