Jack’s Annual Review 2016
“Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” — John Lennon
It’s that time of year again where I get to share anything and everything that was the year of 2016. As usual I will be asking and answering three questions:
- What went well this year?
- What didn’t go so well this year?
- What am I working toward?
This past year presented me a few pleasant streaks of luck, but that’s not to say I got “lucky”. The choices I made to align myself with my goals were riddled with uncertainty, obstruction and infinite discomfort. Alas, at least I can say that things did pan quite OK…
What went well this year?
It was around this time last year that I started to take my interest in web development a lot more seriously. About six months prior I was in China teaching myself some basic HTML and CSS with a huge half-chinese-half-english “Coding for Dummies” textbook. It was a monster, outdated as hell, but still for some reason I was simply drawn to this style of creativity.
Early in 2016 I enrolled in an online coding boot camp called Free Code Camp. As the name suggests, this is a free coding curriculum loaded with algorithm challenges and web development projects. When I stumbled across FCC I was stoked! I joined the bustling 100k+ online community, signed up for some local Brisbane meetups, and was off to the races! Buuut, it wasn’t long until I hit some incredibly intense roadblocks: coding is hard!
In the last twelve months I have spent more time learning not to punch my computer, or even just cry outright simply because learning three new web languages at once required such an intense amount of mental energy and discipline. Hell, learning any language is a challenge! For me, coding as a language is far more intricate than learning German or Mandarin.
Learning to think logically, and solve problems within the constraints of each different coding language is very, very hard!
The worst part is: I don’t think that will ever change: as my skill increases, the challenges I face simply become more intricate as well. Each new problem could easily have a million different solutions. Everyone has a different coding style, and each language is adaptable according to one’s own logic and personal creativity.
The best part is: coding has taught me some applicable and translatable lessons in patience, problem solving, research and abstract thinking. It is also an incredibly enriching and creative pursuit. It’s easy to lose track of time, and it’s really satisfying to solve complex problems and create something from scratch! What’s more, I even managed to snag my first Front End Developer Contract because of my FCC portfolio! Yes, I got a job as a web developer without a degree or any real-world “experience”. All I had was a portfolio and a desire to do what I love.
After a successful end to my four month contract, I was feeling quite chuffed. This was a major turning point for me and I finally felt like I had found my place and my purpose with regards to my career. My goal is to build a flexible lifestyle and living around a career that has infinite opportunity all around the world!
Vanuatu
Oh man, Vanuatu was AMAZING! It was just such a great chance to relax and soak up some sun! Zoe and I spent the majority of our time up on the north east tip of Santo Island in a village called Port Olry. Our accommodation was a super cosy little tree house nestled in an enormous and incredibly ancient tree. (I wish I knew what kind of tree’s these are!)
Vanuatu will always have a special place in my heart because this is where I finally decided to propose to my girlfriend of five years, Zoe. It was a magical moment, right on the beach. I dropped down on one knee right as the sun rose over the glistening turquoise water, on the day of her birthday! We really were in paradise ❤.
Freelancing
Now that Zoe and I are back to reality, I have been working hard to build up a freelancing portfolio. To do this, I find work using a website called Upwork. Things have been building up nicely since I started in early 2016 and by taking on small jobs with low risk, I have been able to ensure that my reputation is of an extremely high quality.
Over time I have gradually picked up bigger and better jobs and now I am at a point where I use Upwork as a solid secondary income source.
This has been a dream of mine for quite some time now: I want to have a lifestyle that will allow me the opportunity to travel and work at the same time. I want to build my career by working on web projects all around the world. More importantly, I desperately want to be able to share this with Zoe, seeing as she already has a flexible remote job with PaleoHacks.
I believe it’s only a matter of time until the stars fully align themselves to some degree. But still, there is a never ending amount of work ahead to get where I want to be. I say, bring it on!
What didn’t go so well this year?
It was about this time last when I started my first internship at a town planning firm. I was anxious because it had been over a year since graduating and I really had nothing to show for myself in terms of experience.
Yeah, I had a university degree… So what?
Seriously, a degree in today’s world means nothing if you don’t have the experience to back it up. I had never interned before, and I basically knew next to nothing about what it’s like to work in an office. The only experience I had was university assignments and group projects, which is hardly anything like the real-world.
It was a bit of a shock to be honest — I wasn’t prepared for the real world at all. I managed to hang out there for a couple of months, working part time as a graduate town planner. But it was clear that I wasn’t wanted there. I didn’t really get any proper guidance, and I wasn’t really sure how to ask for it either. Everyone in the office just seemed so busy with their own shit, and I was simply getting in the way.
I had one decent crack at another town planning job where I came in for an interview and then a day of work. In my mind, I thought I did really well, and it was only down to me and another person. When I found out the news that I didn’t get the job, I was shattered.
This was really hard for me to deal with because I felt completely lost and defeated. Why did I spend four years of my life and over forty thousand dollars only to get nowhere?
So, for the next few months I basically was back to square one. I scrambled to pay my bills doing odd promo jobs here and there. I was a real asshole during this time too. I wasn’t fun to be around, and Zoe had to cop it all. Luckily for her, she had already booked a ticket to Austria for six weeks of summer in Europe. This was a massive wake up call, and a necessary step for me to get my head straight. It gave me a chance to retreat back into my man cave to sort things out.
I was really down in the dumps, and I really began to question everything. I almost enrolled in a masters degree at university because I thought that I needed more skills, more knowledge, more experience (ha, that’s the one thing you don’ get at uni at all!) …
At the end of the day, the one thing I did continue to do was work on my web development education. I managed to build a couple of websites for people and I continued working on my portfolio. Because at the end of the day, what other skills did I have? At the time this was literally the one skill I sort of had.
A couple of months later, I then managed to land my first job in the city and things changed. A small streak of luck came my way and I finally got a break!
When I look back now, I’m almost glad this all panned out the way it did. Because if I did get that town planning job I most likely would not have the web development skills that I have today. Secondly, because I stuck with my web work, I now have even more opportunity that I would have had with town planning. So yeah, it has truly been a bittersweet 2016 spiced with a touch of luck and a lot of hard work.
“Luck is what happens to you when fate gets tired of waiting” — Gregory David Roberts
What am I working towards?
USA here we come!
Well, now it’s official. Zoe and I are heading off to the USA for six months starting in April! This will be an awesome challenge for me to really see if remote work and travel is the lifestyle that I want to pursue. I’m really excited to just give it a go. Best of all this is finally a chance for both Zoe and I to continually work on our careers and continue our passion for new adventures.
We will land in LA and then have plans to head to either Austin, Texas or Boulder, Colorado — or both! I am keen to climb in as many places as possible and I’m also really keen to write more and document our travels, meet new people and share everything over on my blog adventureinmyveins.
Continually develop my web skills
The best thing about working online is that I can simply take my work with me. There’s so much to learn and I’m excited to meetup with as many different people as possible to learn and discover more about the world of web development. I’m keen to take on new projects and solve new challenges no matter where we are in the world!
Going back to Graz!
After USA we will be in Europe for a month and I’m really excited to be back in Graz and hang out with Zoe’s family and friends. Best of all, there is a chance that my mum and step dad will be there too. I’ll be able to show them around and introduce them to Zoe’s family, which is so necessary after 6 years of being together, and numerous back and forth trips. I love Graz and can’t wait to return!
Health and happiness
Staying healthy and active is a big priority for 2017. I love yoga and climbing, but as we travel I also want to take on as many new opportunities to get out and about as possible.
Sharing new and unique moments with Zoe is what I’m looking forward to most. Discovering new places, meeting new people, saying yes to anything and just going with the flow is always exciting, especially when travelling. I need to take more photos, write more and keep track of all the great things to do!
There you have it, that’s what happened in 2016, and this is what’s coming up in 2017!
