Did You Find Coding? Or Did It Find You?

I discovered coding at the lowest point of my life...

If I can be completely honest, vulnerable, and transparent, I did not know about coding until early 2020. I had just given birth to my daughter and I was ready to start working on my hair salon. Being in the beauty industry for almost 10 years, I decided that it was time to build my very own salon. And that I did, until COVID hit me hard.

And as a new mom, Postpartum Depression hit me harder and I struggled with my personal and professional life really heavily. When my daughter was only a couple of months old, I had a talk with my husband and our life counselor and they both told me to stop doing anything business-related for 2 weeks. This way, I was able to clear my mind, focus on myself, my husband, and our brand new baby.

Within those two weeks, I challenged myself to really think about myself and what I genuinely enjoyed doing. You know, things that I knew that I was naturally good at. So I made out a list. And among the top things, technology and art-related activities were on that list.

Here I am with a failed hair salon before it even got started, half of a bachelor's degree in Digital Design, and a thousand odd jobs under my belt. I thought to myself, where is my life going?

Coming straight outta high school with a full Vocal Performance scholarship ten years ago, to a 28-year-old woman who lived her life to accompany those around her.

So within those two weeks, I did something that I had never done in my life; focused on myself.

I knew that I had a genuine love for engineering and technology. But I did not know what I could do in those fields. So I went to google and I literally googled, "creative jobs in tech." A lot of things popped up and coding was one of them.

I googled, Youtubed, and read up on coding and I literally had a lightbulb moment.

I started to follow Software Developers and Engineers on all social media platforms, just to see what their lifestyle was like.

I saw those individuals and I thought to myself, "Can I really live that lifestyle?" And my exact thoughts were, "HELL YES!!"

This industry is EVERYTHING that I prayed for in a career.

Here are the personal career goals that I prayed for over 10 years ago:

1) I want to be creative
2) I want to solve problems
3) I want to teach others
4) I want to travel
5) I want to work remotely if needed
6) I want to receive a great salary to help build a foundation for my family

I am so thankful that my failed business led me in the direction of my true passion.

I used to pray that God would bless me in a career that had all of the stated qualities above and in those 10 years of being a Professional Hairstylist, I always wondered why I could never get ahead in that industry.

How did you discover coding and how has it impacted your life?