Hi everyone.

So I’m kind of in the middle of a career change right now (and by “kind of,” I mean REALLY deep into it. I quit my job as of December and am now in the process of finding part-time work so I can embark on my full-time journey of:

1. Teaching myself to code
2. Researching my career opportunities in the web developer field/tech field
3. Staying involved in the tech world (and hopefully meeting some cool people along the way)
4. Practicing the long-needed self-care that I’ve neglected for so long and learning how to love myself

The last one is more inline of that of a spiritual journey, but I believe it’s necessary for me to list it in order for me to truly fulfill those first three points.

As I become better at coding to the level I deem acceptable, I will publish my first website and then continue to write my blog posts and updates from there. As of now, I intend to use medium not so much for posting “ideas” or “stories,” as the platform seems to be more geared towards, but more so my thought process and updates throughout my journey. Down the road, I’ll use it for its intended purpose. Promise.

Currently, the biggest use for this platform will also be to keep track of my weekly coding goals, as well as personal goals. Personal goals are important to me as they help keep me grounded and ensure stability in my life so I actually can achieve those coding goals I have set out for!

I will have medium- and long-term goals as well, but these weekly goals I think will help me better manage my time and help pave the road towards a semi-smooth journey.

My goals for the week of February 7th contain the following:

1. Continue to learn JS through udemy, preferably at least 4 hours a day
2. Start making blueprints for a very simple first-website design (as if you actually were going to publish this one!) and start building the basics for it. It’s okay if it sucks! This week’s goal is just about having the ambition to actually START a project. Next week will focus on continuing through with the project
3. Apply to at least 3 jobs a day
4. Meditate every morning
5. Exercise at least 3 times this week (I’ve been slacking lately so I think 3 times is a nice amount to prevent myself from avoiding the task altogether)
6. Check out Gwen’s resources for web development
7. Get in touch with Gwen about her journey sometime in the week and perform informational interviewing with the questions described on the current Google doc
8. Wake up at 8am everyday or earlier
9. Research skills taught at at least 3 different bootcamps
10. Research job skills required in the Pittsburgh area (3 times a week)
11. Spend at least 4 hours this week research data science career paths
12. Spend at least 2 hours working on GDI organizer tasks
13. Talk to at least 3 new people at the GDI code and coffee to find out more information about:

• Languages pertinent in the Pittsburgh area
• Do you really need all those skills they list on their job description pages?
• CS degree?
• Data science?

That’s all I can think of for right now. More than anything, I’m just proud of myself for actually taking the initiative to make this post, starting a twitter, and actually getting myself out there after so many years of cowering away from the big scary world that is *gasp* social media (or at least actually using my accounts rather than logging on once every 6 months)!

More to come later. I think this is a sufficient start :)