Thanks, Jessica-- definitely relate to all of your points! I think for all of us, at one point or another, we've all been there. A la Campbell's "The Hero's Journey"-- someone should coin "The Developer's Journey." It's a monomyth that we've all walked. 🙂
To your question though, one of the ways that coding's changed my own personal life is that it's greatly empowered me. This is not a unique thought by any means, but I do believe coding is "the new literacy" and that the future will largely bifurcate between "coders" and "non-coders." And one big reason is learning how to code enables a genuine sense of agency and ability to effect change in the world.
Since I've learned coding, it's just opened so many doors. Anytime I see something I think lackluster (Blogger or WordPress, for example), the first thought through my head is almost always: Ha! I can most definitely build that WAY better! (Though sometimes, the reach has exceeded the grasp, admittedly. 🙄) Or if I'm curious about metrics or data around the competitive NES Tetris scene, I can easily build a Google Data Studio project, hoover in data via Google Sheets, and spin up some nifty dashboards and summary statistics in a weekend or two.
Once (a decade+ ago), I built an NPR WPF desktop app that would start streaming at a designated time each morning. That's how I woke up to Fresh Air that entire year. It was my alarm clock.
Being a coder I think genuinely changes your life. For many of us, we're the little guys-- not hedge fund titans or tech billionaires. And while many of us may harbor deep-seated (or even secret!) creative ambitions (Penny Arcade! Mega Tokyo!), we sadly --at least, speaking personally-- can't draw or sing karaoke to save our lives
So for me, personally, I've always felt like coding was my "creative ticket"-- it gave me a way to make that "tiny dent in the universe." Maybe my humble creations aren't iPhone or iTunes, but it's a genuine expression of my own interests and entirety of being at various points that've been my life. And I think that's made all the difference. 😌
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Thanks, Jessica-- definitely relate to all of your points! I think for all of us, at one point or another, we've all been there. A la Campbell's "The Hero's Journey"-- someone should coin "The Developer's Journey." It's a monomyth that we've all walked. 🙂
To your question though, one of the ways that coding's changed my own personal life is that it's greatly empowered me. This is not a unique thought by any means, but I do believe coding is "the new literacy" and that the future will largely bifurcate between "coders" and "non-coders." And one big reason is learning how to code enables a genuine sense of agency and ability to effect change in the world.
Since I've learned coding, it's just opened so many doors. Anytime I see something I think lackluster (Blogger or WordPress, for example), the first thought through my head is almost always: Ha! I can most definitely build that WAY better! (Though sometimes, the reach has exceeded the grasp, admittedly. 🙄) Or if I'm curious about metrics or data around the competitive NES Tetris scene, I can easily build a Google Data Studio project, hoover in data via Google Sheets, and spin up some nifty dashboards and summary statistics in a weekend or two.
Once (a decade+ ago), I built an NPR WPF desktop app that would start streaming at a designated time each morning. That's how I woke up to Fresh Air that entire year. It was my alarm clock.
Being a coder I think genuinely changes your life. For many of us, we're the little guys-- not hedge fund titans or tech billionaires. And while many of us may harbor deep-seated (or even secret!) creative ambitions (Penny Arcade! Mega Tokyo!), we sadly --at least, speaking personally-- can't draw or sing karaoke to save our lives
So for me, personally, I've always felt like coding was my "creative ticket"-- it gave me a way to make that "tiny dent in the universe." Maybe my humble creations aren't iPhone or iTunes, but it's a genuine expression of my own interests and entirety of being at various points that've been my life. And I think that's made all the difference. 😌