Tech Is For Everyone. Don't Let People Tell You Otherwise
Tags: watercooler, beginners, codenewbie, womenintech
Published: 2022-04-14 03:19:00

Hello Everyone 👋,

Have you ever felt that you don't belong in tech? Mainly because you're a woman or a mom? 
Then you're not alone.
In this article, I want to share my journey into tech as a woman and a mom.

## Background

Growing up, I was always got fascinated with computers.
I remember back in the '80s when my father bought a new computer.
He let my sister and I play games on the computer. Still, only my brother got the opportunity to take a computer course.
I complained a little bit. As the firstborn, shouldn't I be the first one to get that chance?
But my father answered, "Computers are for boys."
He was somewhat old-school back then.

I learned to ignore my curiosity until typewriters were replaced with computers in high school.
Math wasn't my strength at that time. So, I took a social major instead of a science.
Unfortunately, only students from science majors may apply to computer science in college.
Again, I had to bury my curiosity.

## Beginning of The Journey

Fast forward to three years ago—me in my late 30s with a two years old toddler.
I wanted to write a blog about living with a toddler abroad and have like a website to showcase my photography hobby.
A friend gave me the idea to create a blog on WordPress.
So, I browsed everything about WordPress.
And that was when I stumbled on web development.

According to what I read, this is a beginner-friendly programming language. So, I started to learn Python.
But after a month, it somehow didn't click for me.
Then I found out about freeCodeCamp, and I tried it out.
When I saw "Hello World" rendered on the page with HTML, I got hooked and never looked back.
And that was the beginning of my development learning journey.

I didn't have anyone to support me in the first year except my late mom. She was the only one who believed in me and my decision to learn to code.

I didn't have anyone to ask whenever I had questions, but I also didn't know how to ask questions.
I learned about Stack Overflow. And I saw how harsh people answered whenever someone asked a beginner question or accidentally asked something that had been asked before.
I, of course, wouldn't want to do something crazy like asking any newbie questions there.

It was a lonely journey until I found the Moms Can Code community.
Having other people learn together had a significant impact on me. Mainly because they are moms, they know precisely how challenging it is to have little kids around while learning.
It was the first time that I didn't have to feel guilty for having a curious kid around whenever we had a coworking session. And that was the first time I could ask questions without fear of getting judged.

But does it have to be that way? Do that only women empower other women?

I had my doubts. I don't belong in tech because this is a men's world.
Those words haunted me again. *Computers are for boys*.

## The Journey Continues

Fast forward to the year 2020. The pandemic hits, and many events go virtual. One day I saw [Bekah](https://twitter.com/bekahhw)'s tweet that she held a virtual coffee chat. And everyone was welcomed.
I'm an introvert, but I needed it. I needed to connect to other people to have developer friends. So, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, joined Slack for a while, and had my first meeting.

It scared me at first. It is not a community of only moms or women; everyone has worked in the industry. What would they think about me?
I'm a woman, far from a so-called early career developer, and I had to have my kid on my lap. Am I belong here? 

When I introduced myself as an aspiring developer, I lost my confidence.
I often say 'sorry' because my kid couldn't stay still during the first meeting.
I remember thinking, "Okay. This would be my first and last meeting."

But I was wrong. 
Everyone didn't mind and even made a small conversation with my kid. They encouraged me when I said I was still learning. And they welcomed me (and my kid) with open arms.

That was my first meeting, but not the last.
I grew tremendously with this inclusive, loving, and supportive community. And thanks to them, I now do believe I belong in tech.

## Final Words

We might meet some people who make us feel like tech is not for us, but don't let them stop us.
Don't let them tell you otherwise because *everyone* belongs in tech.
And that's including you! 😃

![](https://media.giphy.com/media/XBcMEjQeMzMNSuboMy/giphy.gif)

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Thank you for reading!
Last, you can find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/@AdiatiAyu). Let's connect! 😊