It all began back in may at the suggestion of my friend, who's a Web Developer. Initially I thought it "wasn't for me," but after taking the HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Jquery courses available on CodeAcademy, I became hooked. After I completed those, I was hungry for more, so my friend would write out some problems for me on Javascript to build those skills a bit. Eventually, I decided that it would be sort of "force" myself to be accountable if I invested my own money into a course. I heard of CareerFoundry through a friend. The price is absolutely unbeatable- which is another reason why I chose to become a web developer: the fact that it is a skill that doesn't really require a degree and if it came down to it, you could even learn it for free if it really came down to it, which is more relevent than ever, particularly in my country, where much of my generation is experiencing underemployment and will be caught in the cycle of debt for potentially the rest of their lives.

My current job involves working with immigrant students in high school, helping acculturate them into their new lives in the United States and equipping them with the knowledge and tools they need to pursue meaningful careers. Working with these students is an incredible opportunity on so many levels. However, as I begin to appreciate more and more the value of technology (partially a perspective I've gained from working with people who might come from backgrounds where they did not have access to technology)- I have only just begin to realize the potential of technology to help educate people around the world. For the first time in history, all people need is a device that can connect to the internet as well as an internet connection to essentially access the sum of all human knowledge. While I don't think I have any sort of "developmentalist" worldview, I believe that almost all human beings can benefit from the Internet in a way that pays respects to their individual cultural needs. My long term professional goals as a web developer would be to be work for a company that uses technological solutions to solve the world's problems. Take a country like Afghanistan for example, which has extremely few qualified medical professionals in proportion to its population. Perhaps a joint public/private sector effort could bring internet connections to remote areas of the country, connect people with some kind of tablets or computer, allowing these people to gain medical knowledge via Massive Open Online Course (MOOC's) led by trained medical professionals.

Who knows? But back then, like now, I had goals, and now I've learned that a skill like web development will provide me with another avenue to accomplish my goals. Two years ago I wanted to help people- but I can do it through code now.

The feeling of creating something new and success. So far, I've made this simple site and done everything I've done through trial and error. When you work hard getting a function to work, when you fiddle with the element of a page and then are able to get the page to look like how you envision in your head, it is a truely rewarding feeling.