My Journey into Tech.
Published: 2022-09-27 16:19:23

**Introduction**
My journey into tech has been an interesting one with lots of stops. My interest in tech started from watching Hollywood movies. These movies had a way of creating this big picture a becoming a computer geek and being able to do so many amazing things using tech and this was way back in 2003. This led me to an uncle who owned a computer training school. This was my very first interaction with computers. I learnt how to use computers using both desktops and a laptop. Unfortunately after this training with my uncle, I was unable to continue using computers because I never had one at home and all attempts to get a computer proved futile. As a result I lost the interest and started doing things in other fields. In summary, I changed my mind and the thoughts only remained a fantasy. There were times during my university days when I would go to the cafe to see if I could learn online. Yes I did get some websites to start learning from, but then too many factors (including myself) were militating against me. I was reading a course in Applied Biology, no personal laptop, lack of funds to continue using the cybercafé and the zeal to continue learning died prematurely and that was it.

**The Trigger**
The desire to become a software engineer was rejuvenated during a conversation with a friend who suggested that I learn coding seeing that I had some interest in computers and this struck a chord. That was when I began to surf the internet for more information. Off I went to YouTube to start downloading tutorial videos. Some days later, I just decided to search for a coding academy on Facebook and then the very first result I got was Brighterdays codelab. I had to do this because trying to learn alone seemed so much a herculean task. Seeing Brighterdays’ codelab gave me so much joy and relief simply because I do not have to go very far away to learn how to code and at that point I didn’t hesitate to get in touch with whoever I could talk to on their Facebook page.

Seeing so many young people posting their comments and the tech events that they had attended gave me more motivation to want to get enrolled at all cost. Upon getting the required information, I applied and kept making follow ups. I later attended a tech fair organized by codelab and so many amazing products built by the students were on display. They looked absolutely professional and up to standard. This was the icing on the cake. At that point, I said to myself that I will do whatsoever it took to get enrolled. The hunger to become a Full stack developer like the young chaps I had seen continued to engulf me.

It was all joy and happiness after receiving a call from codelab to come for the interview. I was perplexed at the population I met at the venue of the scheduled interview, but this didn’t deter me because I had this unwavering confidence that I will be selected. 
Was I selected? Absolutely yes! I wouldn’t be writing this if I was not selected though.

That successful application meant the world to me. It marked a great turning point in my life. This was so special because for the first time in my life I will be learning the skill that is most relevant for today, tomorrow and the near future. I have acquired other skills prior to my time at codelab but it has never given me the satisfaction of learning a skill that can cause a positive change.

**My long awaited encounter with Programming, the Journey so far.**
It has been an awesome experience thus far. This is quite so because I have always had this ideology of programming to have a very impossible and extremely mind cracking representation underneath. But my time so far studying has completely erased that school of thought. In actual fact, these few weeks has exposed me to so much possibilities. In barely a month of study I have been able to do things that I thought were so far-fetched and strictly for students who have a background in computer sciences and mathematics. The concepts that I struggled with while trying to learn via YouTube videos have become much clearer and will even become much easier as the journey continues. Constant practice and experience should create an atmosphere for my comfort in the tech space.

I have so far interacted with platforms like Miro for design thinking and Figma for UI/UX designs. Learning about project management and transformational leadership has been a great experience as well. So much value has been added since the boat of programming took off. The knowledge acquired in JavaScript so far makes me wonder if I really am the person studying such a language that seemed heavenly just a little over a month ago. Interestingly I am now studying Typescript, a language that is a superset of JavaScript! Let me hasten to add that this is only my first phase in training. It is interesting to note that I have barely spent a week into my second phase where I will be introduced to other stacks.

**The Destination**
This adventure only has one destination which is the birth of a Unicorn! It may seem that I adopted this slogan from codelab whose goal is to birth unicorns, but in truth the slogan is a resounding echo of what my idea of success is. Codelab has only defined it and causing the inner most part of my subconscious thought to become audible.
The idea of me building a unicorn is to solve problems and cause a positive change in my immediate environment and the nation at large. 

I can only conclude this write up by saying that this is just the tip of the iceberg, it is only the beginning of a whole new tasty adventure.