From Games to Goals
Published: 2023-09-06 05:19:16

_From a childhood hobby to studying in Canada, discover how I found my path in programming and my dreams for the future._






## Table of Contents

1. [Introduction](#introduction)
2. [About Me](#about-me)
3. [Expectations](#expectations)
4. [Reflection on the First Week](#reflection-on-the-first-week)
5. [Vision for the Future](#vision-for-the-future)


## Introduction
This article talks about my personal journey, starting from my childhood, through my aspirations of becoming a software developer. Also, I will share my course expectations, reflection on the first week, and vision of my future.

## About Me
Hello! My name is Akio. I was born in a rural part of Japan on January 8th, 2003. When I was young, I enjoyed building and creating things with cardboard, a hobby that still reflects my personality today.

The world of computers entered my life when I received an old Windows XP laptop from my grandfather at the age of nine. Since then, computers have become an essential tool in my daily life and have made me realize the countless possibilities. 

As time went on, just before I entered junior high school back in 2015, I encountered something that changed my life completely, which was a well-known video game called ‘Minecraft’. The game allowed me to not only create and build anything by designing however I want, but also create unique multiplayer servers by creating plugins by myself using Java. This was my first practical experience with programming. Back then, I was not very proficient in English and even in programming, but I repeatedly tried and made errors while writing codes to produce what I wanted in the end. The experience showed me the joy of programming and introduced me to the career option of being a programmer.

During high school, I led a project to develop a mobile application that is useful for current students and junior high school students. Though we could not release it, I learned valuable lessons about teamwork, leadership, and time management.

Although I have now a clear career path, I did not have one when I was choosing which university to go to. Finally, I decided to go to Kanda University of International Studies where I could learn English because it was the only subject that I truly wanted to pursue, and I believed that it would be helpful to my programming career at the same time. 

Until the summer of my sophomore year, I harbored some doubts about my direction, but participating in a one-week programming internship changed that. In this internship, we aimed to create a simple reservation app using Java as a team, which was actually my first proper experience working on a project as a team, since the project in high school, I was the only one in charge of coding. Also, I was concerned about turning my hobby of programming into a profession, but despite the short duration, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the internship. It allowed me to envision myself as a future programmer and gave me the confidence that I could succeed in this field. Therefore, this experience not only shattered those uncertainties but also solidified the career path that I currently pursue.

Now, I am here in Canada to study front-end development as my first step toward realizing my dream.

## Expectations
The biggest reason why I decided to join CICCC, especially in the mobile and web development course, is to gain experience and confidence in working as a software developer. This is because, as of right now, I have no work experience as a programmer and am unsure whether I can keep up and stick with the job in the future as I am currently a university student who has no formal educational background in computer science or programming in school.

As job hunting approaches in Japan, I realize that it could be challenging for me to apply for that kind of job because of my background. Although I have heard some Japanese companies train new employees from scratch to become professional programmers, it means I will have fewer companies that I can apply to during my job hunt because not every company has the kind of educational program. To overcome this, I believe it is worth studying abroad to learn programming, even if it means taking a break from university, which is why I am here now.

Also, in actuality, I have always found it difficult and have often avoided studying HTML and CSS because they are totally different from what I have been used to in Java or any other similar programming languages. I believe that to become a professional programmer, it is essential to fully understand and be able to code in HTML and CSS. Therefore, I hope to acquire and master them throughout this course.

By the end of this course, I expect that what I once struggled with, HTML and CSS, will have become my strengths and built confidence in writing codes. Moreover, I hope to utilize the knowledge and experience that I will have gained by then to create a new portfolio website for my upcoming job hunting both in Canada and Japan.

## Reflection on the First Week
The first week was like a review of what I learned in high school, and it was an excellent opportunity for me to reflect and relearn what I had forgotten. In particular, understanding unique numbering systems in computers and the conversions between binary to decimal was always a challenge and something I was not good at during high school. Therefore, it was incredibly valuable to learn them once again. I am indeed looking forward to the practical programming lessons that are about to start.

## Vision for the Future
My ultimate goal is to become a project manager. The reason for this is that I enjoy leading and bringing people together, finding it fulfilling. My career will start as a programmer in areas like front-end development, and I aim to gradually climb the career ladder. After working as a programmer, I plan to move on to roles such as a software engineer, followed by a system engineer, progressively building my skills and experience, with the eventual aim of becoming a project manager. 

Along the way, I understand that continuous learning is essential. As I progress in my career, I am going to take up certifications relevant to each phase of my career, attend workshops, and always stay updated with the latest in technology.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my article till the end!