Break Tech Stereotypes

When I first entered the tech industry, I was young, ambitious, and eager to prove myself. But I was also really insecure about my abilities.

The people who seemed to get the most recognition tended to be men who contribute to open source, write talks, have side projects, read Hackernews, and have strong opinions about everything.

I felt so out of place, I already worked so hard to get “in,” but I still didn’t feel like I belonged. I tried to read programming blogs, attend conferences, and participate in hackathons to prove to the rest that I’m just as good.

As I grew older and gained more experience, my self-confidence grew as well. I realized that I don’t need to prove that I’m a good programmer by doing things I don’t enjoy. I can embrace who I am — someone who would rather spend my time hiking, enjoying good art, and learning to dance than reading about coding paradigms.

I decided that I would rather break the stereotype than be part of it.