My journey to Andela. pt 3
I made it, I am going back to Lagos
After all that happened here:
I passed the online test and was called for a face-to-face interview. I knew I would pass the interview and get into the Andela bootcamp. I was that confident. I did pass the interview and was sent a mail to come for the 2 weeks bootcamp, Yippee!!!. I got a new shoe from Yaba, courtesy my cousin whose skirt and shirt I was going to be wearing from time to time for the bootcamp. God bless her heart.
I was on my laptop, studying some things in preparation for the bootcamp. My laptop was a very unstable one, Andela said they will provide one for me plus lunch during the bootcamp. I got a mail from Andela, I thought it was about the laptop. Nay, it wasn’t.
I saw sorry, I saw wrongfully selected, I saw no need to come. I closed the mail, I opened it again. I thought of what God said, I thought of going back to Benin, I thought of my new shoe, I thought of my family, I thought of how much I needed to pay at my school, I thought of my passion.
I deleted the mail, I went to my trash and deleted it from my trash. I refused to receive such a mail, as far as I was concerned the mail was a lie.
(During this period I was studying the book of Esther, it sure came in handy.)
I sent a message to the contact person(Mr Ops), it read:
“I got a rejection mail, you know what, forget about the free lunch and laptop. I will be coming on Monday. I am already in Lagos and I can’t go back to Benin.” e.t.c
My Lagos sister walked in few minutes later with a testimony, she just got a car. I rejoiced with her like nothing had happened.
Me: Sam, I have something to tell you. I was told not to come for the bootcamp. I am going, say nothing.
Sam: Okayyyy….
Me: This one thing I ask, be a Mordecai for me, as I go like Esther went before the king for her people.
Sam: No problem, take care, the Lord go with thee.
Monday morning, my cousin dedicated her life to dress me up. My Lagos Mummy and sisters were all there to celebrate my first day. I said nothing about the mail. I kept smiling.
I got to the office, I saw the security man he saw me. He asked ‘Andela’, I said yes, and he led me to an office filled with other bootcampers.
Instructor: Welcome, to Bootcamp Day 1, introduce yourself and say something about you.
Me: I am Blessing Ebowe, and I am stubborn.
Mr Ops: So you are the Blessing, see me outside.
We are sorry for what happened, apply for the next batch which is for next month.
Me: No problem, I will apply but I can’t just go back home like that. Let me just be a part of the bootcamp even if I am not being considered for employment.
Silence……
Back in the bootcampers space
Instructor: Some of you will remain here and work with javascript the others will be going to the python class, if you hear your name go to the python class. You there.
Me: Me???
Instructor: Yes, you Blessing right? go to python class.
I was new to programming, I just started learning Java at my programming school, and JavaScript in preparation for the bootcamp. I didn’t understand anything yet. I didn’t even know there was something called Python.
I got to the class they were all seated, all male, I was the only girl. I felt they had a plan to just throw me off the bootcamp and decided that putting me there was going to be a way to scare me off.
Strong head girl, I stayed, I did my best, I came the next day and everyday, I wasn’t thrown out. My laptop crashed, someone brought a laptop for me it crashed, IT team tried to fix me up a laptop, there was none available. I kept on purging from my nervousness. Huge terms flew over my head.
At the end of week 1, I noticed that the Javascript class had reduced drastically. That was when I realised Andela was serious, they actually sent some people home. I felt they didn’t send me home because I wasn’t even under consideration. By the way, I ate the lunch I said I didn’t want.
It got harder and tougher each day, I barely slept or rested. The young men in my class were really helpful. I told them I was a mirage companion. Sometimes when I felt the stress was too much, compounded by the laptop issues and it wasn’t like I was being considered for employment they encouraged me to keep on.
We were given projects to do and told to prepare for a presentation. 2 days to the presentation, I was still battling with my laptop, I walked to the bus stop with a lady that evening, she asked ‘how far I had gone’, I tried to explain why I had not even started. The conversation ended with me feeling like a failure.
A day to the presentation…
Me: Python cohorts, I don’t think I will be around tomorrow. My presentation will mean nothing and also I have nothing to present. I have no idea how to create a server, or what a django is.
Python cohorts: Blessing, you have made it this far, everyday for 2 weeks. Some men even dropped out, others were sent home, you have stayed put why not just finish it. Here are some videos that could help you in your project.
Later that evening…
Lagos Mum: How are you preparing for your presentation? You will get that job in Jesus Name.
Me: Hmmm, Amen ooh (She had no idea, I wasn’t even actually part of the bootcamp).
Lagos Mum: This your Amen is not a believing one at all, you don’t believe?
Me: (Smiling) I believe.
This was one tough night, if I slept at all it would have been for a maximum of 2hrs. I fought the night, I fought my laptop, I fought python. I really had no idea what I was doing.
I went for the presentation late that day as I was still contemplating going. The application I built wasn’t working or coming up. I got there, took a seat at one end. The presentation started at the other end. I sat there watching what others did.
Later on I decided to do my own instead of just watching others. That was how I started, asking my neighbours question, ‘how do you create a table in html’, ‘what do I use to run the server’, ‘what does this red message mean’. Soon enough I had a webpage, containing a table with a single data entry from the database, input boxes and a button.
It was my turn to present, I stood up with all the authority and confidence in the world. They had rejected me once, I can’t be rejected twice. So there was nothing to fear because there was really nothing on the line.
My presentation….
Me: I built a contact application to help you manage your contacts, the plan is for you to be able to view your contacts, add a contact, edit a contact or delete it.
Instructor: Add a contact.
Me: The button is not working yet.
Instructor: Edit a contact.
Me: The button is not working yet.
Instructor: Let’s go to your code.
What is a csrf token?
Me: (Without even trying to think about it), I don’t know, (I could see some folks looking at me strangely).
Instructor: He faced the class and explained it. You can go and sit down.
I presented, Yippeee!!!. I couldn’t believe I had a page to present. The 2 weeks had finally come to an end. I felt like I went for a military training, it was tough, it was rigorous, it was thorough, it tested everything in you, it challenges you, it breaks you and makes you.
They were going to send out appointment letters to those that made it in a few days. I wasn’t expecting anything, but I decided to take time out to pray for wisdom to tell my family about it. About how I had fooled them for 2 weeks.
I sat at the table that early morning, a call came in from one of my Python cohorts.
Cohort: Blessing, check your mail, you made it I can see your name.
Me: This is the thing, I am not a bootcamp member at all. Maybe they forgot to remove my name from the board. I will still just check.
Right there in my mail, I saw an appointment later. I gave Mr Ops a 100 missed calls. I didn’t celebrate or smile. I sat by the phone waiting to speak with him. He finally called.
Me: Good afternoon, sorry for the plenty calls. I saw a mail. I think its another error.
Mr Ops: What did it say?
Me: It said I got the job and I should resume next week.
Mr Ops: It is exactly what it is, you got the job. Congratulations, welcome to Andela.
Me: But …………………………………..
Me: ………………………………………
Me: (Blessing you are fainting, you should be happy and scream) Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh, oops sorry thanks.
Mr Ops: Yeah, bye. See you on Monday.
I made it, finally the word God spoke to me when He said programming was now made manifest. For the first few months, I kept feeling they will come one day and sack me. It never happened its almost 3years now. I can start an application server, I know my html tags and can build a fully functional contacts management application. Apparently it was about how much progress I had made, and not necessarily how much I already knew.
Thanks for reading, I hope this piece changes your life.
P.S I made use of fake names, also the conversations and mails used here are basically a summary.
