To be honest, if anyone told me like 2 years ago that I’ll be here doing tech stuff, writing codes and building projects, I honestly would’ve laughed. Not because I didn’t believe in myself, but because it just didn’t seem like “me.” I’ve always been the girly type, soft spoken, into dresses, lashes, skincare and cute things. I liked looking good, smelling nice, and being around peaceful things. So when I started thinking about going into programming, it just felt like I was picking a path that was too far from what everyone expected from someone like me.
I remember when I first mentioned to a few of my close friends that I was considering learning programming, you could just tell from the way they looked at me that they didn’t think I was being serious. Some even laughed. They didn’t say it in a mean way or anything, but you know that subtle way people try to discourage you? Like “babe are you sure?” “Why not try project management or social media management instead?” “Programming is too stressful o, and it’s more of guy things nah.”
At first I actually started to doubt myself. I mean, these were people that knew me. Maybe they were right? Maybe I just liked the idea of tech because of what I was seeing online, maybe I wasn’t actually built for the stress, the bugs, the constant fixing and unfixing of code. But there was this stubborn part of me that just couldn’t let it go. I wanted to at least try, like even if I’ll fail, I should know that I tried.
And a small part of it too, I won’t even lie, was because I saw how much some people were earning from tech jobs. Like I had people around me getting paid in dollars and I was just like “God when?” It wasn’t all about the money but let’s not lie, the money sweet o. I had things I wanted to do, plans I wanted to achieve, and I knew that a good paying job would go a long way.
So I ignored all the comments and I started learning on my own. I didn’t go to any bootcamp or fancy school, I just started watching videos online, following tutorials, reading articles. It was so confusing at first. Like, the first time I saw C# code I literally almost cried. Everything looked so hard and dry, and I kept asking myself what I got myself into. But I just continued. Some days I didn’t even understand what I was doing but I still showed up and kept learning. I started building tiny things, like calculators and login pages. Sometimes I’ll spend a whole day on one bug and still not solve it. It was draining. But somehow I didn’t stop.
After about few months, something amazing happened. I got my first job. Then not long after, another one. Both were through referrals. Fellow developers that saw me building stuff, and have been helping me grow. It wasn’t even luck, these were real opportunities that came because I stayed consistent and showed that I knew something. And now I work remotely with two companies, doing backend dev with C# .NET. I’m not where I want to be yet, but I honestly look back and smile because I remember when I almost gave up before even starting.
I think the biggest lesson for me in all this is that, sometimes people discourage you not because they want to kill your dreams, but because they can’t see you beyond what they already know you as. My friends weren’t trying to be evil, they just thought programming and “pretty girly me” didn’t match. But that’s their imagination, not mine. I’m glad I didn’t let their limited view become my reality.
Now I’m working on my own personal projects too, like trying to build a platform for beginners in tech, and also planning something bigger that I’ll share when the time is right. Let’s just see where this journey leads.
So yeah, if you’re reading this and you’re thinking of starting something new that people say isn’t “for someone like you”, start anyway. Let them be shocked later.