Programming and what it means to me
I remember I conversation I heard with my best friend in senior four about our plans to take over the world. She wanted to be a hacker and I wanted to be a robotics/mechanical engineer. We were going to build systems that would build economies, save political careers and fund our vacations to Bora Bora.
One of my best qualities then was the ability to dream, to envision things that are not yet in existence.
Four years later, we are all grown up. I am a programmer and she’s a mechanical engineer. The realities of the world have pushed as to work for money and desire a modest living.
Even though I didn’t choose this line of work, it chose me. Programming to me is like pieces of building blocks. I put one block over another and I get a tower. I change the structure of my tower and I get a bridge. Programming has taught me to start using a block at a time instead of having everything figured out. It has taught me that two, three, four people are better than one person.

As a programmer, I am useless if I do not add value to a project or company. I have to go out of my way to find resources and learn new skills to meet the demand of my project. This has prevented me from having a narrow-minded view of pursuing a degree and then looking for a job. I can now confidently create a job for myself anywhere I am as long as I can add value to that community.
Unlike any other field, programming has limitless possibilities to help people and advance our community. In Uganda, I have had the privilege of participating in projects that tackle health, education, and business. I have realized a large amount of data that is accessible to a programmer from different of fields of study and I want to able to process large amounts of data to provide useful information to the people who need it.
In conclusion, this work has given me purpose and I am excited to see where this journey leads. Perhaps I will build economies, save political careers and fund my vacations to Bora Bora someday.