A Bit More

I wrote my first line of HTML on Microsoft Notepad in 2004 and fell head-over-heels for how magical it all felt. The problem I was solving in 2004? My Neopets shop page wasn't pretty enough. I was 12 years old.

I spent a couple days working up the courage to convince my parents to put their credit card information into a form on a website and buy me a domain. They did. And my first website was born. I learned everything, HTML/CSS, creating graphics in Paint Shop Pro and Animation Shop, and getting my website live, by reading posts written by kids my age. Soon I started writing my own posts sharing my knowledge, my pitfalls, my cool experiments.

I didn't jump straight into the tech industry. As school got more demanding and with the freedom that having my driver's license allowed me, I stopped updating my sites. I still always came back to it in some capacity. Running a MySpace layout page, creating a message board for a band I liked, running an eCommerce site with my friends to sell shirts we designed. I didn't know at the time that what I was doing could be a career. I entered into college to be an elementary school teacher but dropped out after failing a course titled College Success (twice). I've talked about that experience a lot.

I bounced between retail and foodservice jobs for a while, still unsure of what I wanted to do. There was a software apprenticeship program looking for apprentices in Tampa near the city that I lived in. It felt like serendipity. I replied to the job posting and was invited to come into the office. After hearing more about the role, I asked how I could join the program. The application process was to build an unbeatable Tic-Tac-Toe game. Up until this point, I had written mostly HTML/CSS and a little bit of PHP.

On the way home, I stopped at a bookstore. I bought Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner. I chose Python because it was the only language in the bookstore with a book geared towards beginners.

I applied with this unbeatable Tic-Tac-Toe game. I was offered a spot in the program. I spent a little over a year as an apprentice, and it's an experience that truly changed my life.

Sharing things on the web isn't new for me. I've been sharing (and let's face it, oversharing) online for over 15 years. This blog is a continuation of that impulse, a little more professional, a little more focused, but at its roots is the seed planted by me as a preteen.

When I'm not writing code, I'm either at pilates, playing board games with friends, or doing a crossword puzzle. I'm also obsessed with reality television shows like Survivor, Big Brother, and the Bachelor extended universe. I love to read, cook, and I want to say I'm a plant lover, but I don't know if you're supposed to be continually bringing things to the brink of death if you love them.

I live in a historic neighborhood in Jacksonville, FL, with my fiance and our two dogs.