When I was younger, I dreamed of becoming an actor or a comedian, like my idols Jim Carrey and Robin Williams. When I got older, I learned how to play guitar and eventually formed a band and my dream was to become a rock and roll star. I even went to college to study music industry. Then my dream changed again and I wanted to be a political writer, dedicated to covering the injustices of the world.
As you can guess by reading this blog post, none of these dreams really panned out. Even the last few years, I altered my dreams to become a teacher, educating the future to make our society better. That didn’t really work out either. That’s when I reevaluated my life, my goals and of course, my dreams. Now that I’m older, life status and fame were less important than providing for my family and working towards a meaningful life.
Call it fate or call it direct marketing, but ads about coding bootcamps and becoming a software engineer became popping up every where. It made me recall my memories of working with computers, including a programming class I took in high school. Of course, it wasn’t the easiest class (so much math) but it was fun to make the final project, a Craps computer game.
Then I recalled that it was my father who suggested I give the programming class a try. He was always so supportive of my dreams, driving my band to shows and picking me up after school from play rehearsal. He worked hard to support his family, even going back to school to become a network administrator. So then I figured, if he can make a career change while balancing a young family, then I can at least try.
It’s only been a couple months of learning coding, but I never feel I’ve made the wrong decision. My outlook on life has changed for the better and I’m looking forward to my path as a software engineer. This is the first mile on a long road ahead, but I couldn’t be more excited about the journey and the final destination. Maybe I won’t be as memorable as my idols, but the potential to find a fulfilling career that can support me and my family is more important than any other dream I’ve ever had.