My journey into the dev world this past year was fantastic. I really got to exercise my brain and learn new concepts. I found enjoyment in solving problems and excitement in working applications. I would have to say that this change was the best decision that I have made in 2020.

And . . . I was able to land my first junior developer role for Skedit! They have such big plans for the company I can't wait to see it's growth and excited to be a part of this team.

Check out my trip!

Since I've started, I jumped into Angular and brushed up on my JavaScript skills. I've been working on projects like formatting pages for uniformity and correctly routing links to their proper pages. It's so exciting for me that I've made a little dance when I get something to work. It gets me out of my chair and it's a small reminder to myself to have some fun with it (actually, a plate of nachos would be an awesome reward). Does anyone out there reward themselves too?

I'm not going to lie, it was very hard to find a junior dev position that didn't require a massive amount of experience. I couldn't have landed this job without my mentor and his fiancé. You have no idea how much it helps to make friends and connections in this community. I was even kindly asking hiring managers to lend some advice on what I could have done better to be considered for the position. This is the perfect example of you get what you give. Keep hustling!

Goodbye 2020

I'm sure that half of you are so happy that 2020 has come to an end and the other half is wishing it didn't have to end. We've all had our personal ups and downs since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For most of us, we were forced to slow down and appreciate the little moments with our family and friends. We worked from home with screaming children and kitchen tables became our offices. It's so crazy to think that at the start of 2020 we were eating out with friends and visiting our families. Now, we're overthinking the safety of running to the grocery store for a gallon of milk. Traveling out of state for my training was definitely a little terrifying but it turned out to be very successful.

My family and I were lucky enough to be able to adapt to our "new normal" and understand the new environment we were in. The pandemic had us thinking of our future and how we want to live in this world.

In this past year, my husband worked as a nurse in a hospital in our city and was there to witness the panic and heartbreak first hand. He decided to continue his schooling to become a nurse practitioner to give more back to the community. I worked as a program director at a college and helped in the transition from campus to online courses. I decided that I wanted to develop, create, and build in tech to help in the ease of everyday life.

Our decisions were based on paths we've always wanted to follow but always thought 'It's not the right time' and 'Maybe tomorrow'. 2020 taught us that TODAY is the best time to start our future.

Happy 2021!

Until next time,
♥ Lynne