New account. Who dis?

Good question. My name is Cindy. I am a multi-faceted person and I think to gain some context about my journey, it would be helpful if you know about where I was before this.

I grew up in a supportive household where I was told I could be anything and I had the grades to support that theory, but quite honestly, I had no clue what I wanted to do. So I picked the topic I was good at, music, and just went for it.

During the course of my college experience, I ended up changing my jobs and major to business administration until I received my associate's degree. At the time, I was working in healthcare as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-B) and did not pursue a higher degree because, in my mind, what would I need to get a business degree for in the healthcare field.

My life took turns I didn't expect like meeting my husband, who was one of my EMT partners, and moving to Tennessee from New Jersey to take a new job. During our time there, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Erin, who is currently seven.

My husband and I decided that with a new baby we should be around our family so we moved back to New Jersey. That move led me to my first remote position. I worked as a chat and email advisor for the iTunes department of Apple Inc. and it was eye-opening how much tech played a role in our everyday lives. However, with the schedule there, I could not afford to go back to school.

Since that time, I rejoined the healthcare field in order to find a better schedule to go back to school or to find a program that would work better with my family.

One Step Closer

During my time at a local hospital, I started coding again after a very long hiatus (if you count HTML as coding). After researching CS programs and trying to work around my work schedule, I soon found that wouldn't be an option.

That's when I found boot camps.

It seemed like the stars aligned because right around this time, I became eligible for some education benefits from my husband and health insurance through him as well.

That's when we decided to take the leap.

I know it's not conventional during a pandemic to leave a "skilled job", or so they called me, but if I stayed where I was I was looking at little to no pay raises and living paycheck to paycheck. My position had no ladder to climb and no way potential to grow in personal development or pay. I don't want to live my life that way and I don't want to teach my daughter that stifling your dreams is acceptable either.

Here We Go

I studied and studied and studied some more. And with that, I was able to get through my prework assessment.

I start my boot camp tomorrow and I'm filled with so many emotions.

I'm excited. I'm ready to start the new chapter of my life. I'm ready to learn more. I'm ready to start a career that allows me to scale my learning into earning potential. I'm ready for challenges.

I'm nervous. I want to achieve greatness, not for me. For my family.

Challenge yourself with something you know you could never do, and what you’ll find is that you can overcome anything. – Anon

The Goal

I've heard it said that when you put a goal in writing, you make it real. So here it goes.

My goal is to finish my boot camp with the knowledge I need for getting a career that provided me with the following (in no particular order):

• Enough earnings to take Erin to Disney World
• The ability to work remotely to be present for my family
• The ability to continue my education and self-development
• The means to carry out our "5-year plan"*

Let's do this!

*The five-year plan is a good topic for another day.