Ayu Adiati: Polyglot, Latte Lover, CodeNewbie

Welcome to the "CodeNewbie Community Spotlight" — a series where we interview an individual from our community and highlight all that they've accomplished. We can't wait to celebrate our CodeNewbie community in a new and different way each month!

Name: Ayu

Pronouns: She/Her

Location: South Holland, The Netherlands

What got you into coding?

I have always been curious about computers since I was a child. But growing up, I was told that the programming world was for boys, and not girls. Even so, I still have had a love and curiosity for computers.

Before I had my daughter, I was into photography as a hobby. And it became more fun to me after she was born, especially since she started to be aware of cameras when she was 1.5 years old. I also sold photos to some stock photo companies as a freelancer.

From there, I wanted to have my own website to showcase my photos as well as personal documentation. I also wanted to write a blog to share my journey living in another country with a toddler just for fun.

One day, I browsed everything on how to create a website. I was thinking about learning WordPress. But then, even before I got my hands wet on WordPress, I discovered FreeCodeCamp. I gave it a try. The first time “Hello World” rendered onto the page with HTML, I was hooked and knew what I was going to do next.

What's your dream role?

A role that allows me to work with kind and positive people who are willing to grow together, help and support each other, and who love to share knowledge. It would be a dream come true if I could inspire and motivate people with whatever I do.

What made you decide to join a community as part of your coding journey?

I have been a self-taught web developer since the first day I started to learn. Learning alone can definitely be a lonely journey. No one was there to answer my questions, share my frustrations, or support me when I get stuck. I procrastinated a lot to calm myself. Then, I lost motivation.

Eventually, I realized that for me to get out of these circumstances, I needed to be in a community. I knew that community is very important. But enrolling in a bootcamp, attending meetups, or going to conferences was not an option for me. I am a stay-at-home mom with no income, and I couldn't leave a toddler alone at home or bring her to the events!

Then, COVID knocked down my barriers. Many events and meetups were moved online and most have been free since the pandemic hit. This was when I found great communities such as Virtual Coffee, DEV, and CodeNewbie!

Since I found these loving and supportive communities, I have grown much faster than before. I gained more confidence, and most importantly, I am no longer alone in this journey!

"The first time hello world rendered onto the page with HTML, I was hooked and knew what I was going to do next."

What is something you're particularly proud of?

My blog and articles started getting recognized!

Writing was one of the things that got me to learn to code. But my blog was gathering digital dust on the shelf for some time because I had no confidence in it. With some support and participation in a monthly writing challenge, I pushed myself to write my first article. And it’s been moving forward since then.

Some of my articles made it onto CodeNewbie’s newsletters. I was one of the February Writers of The Month on CodeNewbie, and one of my articles made it into the Top 7 on DEV!

Tell us about a struggle you've overcome.

The biggest supporter of my coding journey was my mother. She was the only one who supported me when many others were doubting and even frowned upon my decision to learn to code. My mom was my very best friend.

It was the 3rd month of my learning journey when she passed away. I lost my grip. I stopped coding for months. I didn’t even know at that time if I would ever go back to code. But one day, I opened my laptop, made a new account on Twitter, and marked my coming back to learn to code by doing #100DaysofCode. Here I am now, 2 years later, still pushing through 😊

What is one fun fact about you?

I speak 4 languages (Indonesian, English, Dutch, and Japanese) and understand 2 Indonesian dialects (Javanese & Sundanese). So I sometimes mix up words and grammar 😅 Usually, this happens before I sip my favorite Iced Macchiato or Caramel Latte coffee 😁

To read more about Ayu's coding journey, you can follow her here on CodeNewbie Community and DEV @adiatiayu.

See you next month for another CodeNewbie Community Spotlight! 💚