Hello Lily,

I just wanted to let you know that I relate to your article so much. I also have always felt so alone when it came to being apart of the tech industry. However, I’m only 19 and I’m still in the process of getting my Software Engineering degree. I started when I was 17 and I have always felt like maybe I was not supposed to be there, or maybe I was better off doing some medical field… or maybe I wasn’t smart enough. I have always thought all of these things because of my lack of experience with computers (Most guys in the computer engineering field have grown up coding or building computers since they were 10 ish).

In my family growing up, I was not allowed to be on the computer a lot because my family only saw it as me “playing video games” when they did not even consider other factors that I may be doing. All-in-all, they pretty much did not support me in my passion growing up and always pushed me in the medical/lawyer direction. It was really hard to make it something that I wanted to do because I was so scared of MANY things. I wasn’t ensured a job, I wouldn’t understand the concepts, or maybe people would try to push me down. But ironically, one of the major reasons that kept me going was that many guys have told me that I couldn’t do it, or would try to convince me to switch to something easier in a condescending tone. I also love programming in general though too, so there’s that.

I definitely wish there was a female role model I could look up to. Side note: not being sexist, just stating facts that there is indeed more guys in the Software Engineering field. Also I am literally the only girl studying SE in my school. Well back to studying, hope everything goes well for you!