A Brief History of Me

Alternate Title: How I became a Full-Stack Software Engineer

Welcome! So, you made your way here. Well thank you for your interest. Sincerely. I hope you find whatever it is that you are looking for. I'll just jump right then, though please keep in mind that this is mostly just a tech-centered retelling of what is on the About Me page.

The Beginning?

I'll skip the very early stuff since that's not worth re-telling but, way back when, I initially got into programming thanks to an awesome teacher by the name of Mr. Patel. I spent three awesome years in his classes learning all about object-oriented programming and the basics of computer science and I started learning the basics with C++ and Java.

From there, due to the monkey-wrench known as life circumstances and economics, I wasn't really able to continue pursuing software development so that was put on hiatus... But, thanks to the amazing work done by Mr. Patel, I had developed a love for technology that would thankfully come back into focus later on.

The Next Chapter...

Some time in the future LambdaSchool (now known as Bloom Institute of Technology) entered the fray. One day, while watching something on YouTube, I ran across one of their advertisements. While I was initially weary of any sort of online learning institution, with the "safety-net" of their rather unique approach to tuition, my wife and I decided it was the right time to try and make a change. I applied for their Full-Stack Web Development program and haven't looked back since.

And Now...

Since then, my interests have grown around all things web development.

Of course, I've built up the the obligatory foundations of HTML, CSS, and Javascript and then I started tinkering with Sass and Less. From there we dove into the React ecosystem and all things therein. Near the end of the program we dove into Python so I started learning that as well. From there I have continued to expand my foundations in CSS, Javascript, and Python since I'm the sort of person that STRONGLY believes that a firm foundation is the basis for all growth. Of course that doesn't mean I haven't dabbled in other technologies.

Regarding Programming Languages specifically, Javascript and Python are my daily drivers. I have built things with Ruby and Go, and have dabbled with Rust, Kotlin, and Swift just to get a feel for them --though I definitely plan to go back to Rust and Go at a later date and become proficient with them-- but, currently, I'm in the process of making sure I know all of the weird intricacies of Javascript and Typescript before I move on since I tend to lean towards the front-end.

Now with that said, I must admit that Javascript is my favorite simply because it is my toolbox. Python has been really fun to learn but I love the versatility in the JS ecosystem. I know to many that may be a horrible thing to say but that's just my humble opinion anyway so please take it with a spoonful of salt. This site is built with GatsbyJS and using Sass for the style-sheet creation and I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of putting it together greatly.

The Future!

In the near future I expect to be doing some deep dives into various aspects of the beautiful abyss known as CSS as well as some things built with vanilla JS just for fun. I'm also looking at potential projects with Next.js, Solid.js, and Nest.js --I'm really curious to see what a more structured approach to Express out of the box looks like in practice-- so there's what so expect! After that I think I'll be doing some deep-dives on Python before moving on to anything else since I really want to dig into Python only solutions for modern web. (After that it will likely be Rust but that's subject to change)

Opinions:

If you're curious as to my thoughts regarding certain technologies you can look at the list below. I will only be commenting on technologies that I feel I have some degree of proficiency with though since I'm not a big fan of pretending I know a lot about things I definitely don't.

• HTML: I'm very interested in all things related to Semantics, Structure, and APIs of HTML documents and the concept of keeping the markup as true-to-life and as meaningful as possible instead of engaging in the dreaded "div hell" that makes HTML nigh-impossible to comprehend. Along with that, I'm also thrilled at the way accessibility standards have been moving into the mainstream thought-process (since it seems this was at least somewhat previously relegated to afterthought) and how that has affected the modern HTML Standard. I also really like some of the tools available for streamlining HTML generation or templating, but that's another topic 😅.
• CSS: I frankly just love all of it. Of course, I certainly love all the power that comes with pre-processors like Sass and the utility that comes from bundling styles with components in technologies like styled-components, but the idea that I have a nigh-inexhaustible toolkit of things I can do to make something totally bespoke out of the box --and that the toolkit is basically ever-growing-- is positively exhilarating. While oh so very cliched, the idea of "dreaming in CSS" is definitely an apt descriptor of how I view a lot of the world now. When I look at magazines, or newspapers (I know right... who still buys those? ✋) I'm constantly thinking about ways to achieve the layouts I'm looking at, or how they could be adapted to different views (like mobile, or ultra-wide). At the end of the day, the fact that CSS provides a way to make just about anything happen is just plain fun.
• Javascript: You can basically do any thing in any way, and that can be a blessing or a curse. Personally, everything ES6+ just makes me happy. On top of that I'm a big fan of the functional programming paradigm but having initially learned with object-oriented programming, I can understand why some people continue to use it in modern projects so having the ability to tailor the approach to the project is awesome. Now, with Typescript in the mix we have a whole new world of awesome! Yes, I know its not technically a part of Javascript, just a superset... but I think its fair to say that they are more and more being treated as a singular unit in modern web development. And for good reason honestly. I'm excited to see whats on the horizon!
• Python: It's so easy to use. It doesn't require a ton of background to get started yet there's a lot of meat to dig into if you want to dive. I enjoyed it when I started learning it, and I still enjoy it. To me, that means a lot.

RE: LambdaSchool / Bloom Institute of Technology

I know there's been some controversy around the school so I'll just put my two cents here.

All institutions have pros and cons, but in my honest and simple opinion, at the end of the day, what really matters is just how much they care about those cons and how much they push to maximize the pros. Yes, there were moments where it felt chaotic amidst the constant changes. However, that turbulence was an expectation that had been clearly set out when the school emphasized its ideology, and its commitment to changing things as it saw the need. For me, joining that program allowed me to have some extra resources and guidance that I simply didn't have access to while self-studying, and the added benefit of a community of peers to work along with made it all the better. To this day, I am thankful to have taken part in the program.