Beginnings are Hard
I’ve been postponing this for years—decades, even. The idea of writing has always captivated my soul. As a kid, I wrote my own tales and illustrated them (poorly). As a teenager, I wrote nostalgic, emo-ish posts about life in my personal blog that my online friends loved. But I never chased the dream.
Later in life, as a junior software developer, I fell in love again with blogs and newsletters. I subscribed to every newsletter and followed every blog with my little RSS feed extension. The same thought always surfaced: if they can do it, why can’t I? Well, now, ten years later, I’m finally doing it.
Why This, Why Now?
Life is too short to be afraid of failing—that’s the short answer.
The real answer? I’ve been feeling lost, like I don’t have time to be me. As a full-time parent, spouse, and developer, it’s hard to find time to scratch your own itch and do what you want. But recently, something has changed. I’m starting to feel more hopeful and excited about the future. Yes, there are still fears—what if people don’t like what I create? Or hate it? Or, even worse, what if nobody notices? But I’ve realized that these thoughts don’t have to hold me back. Instead, they can motivate me to keep going and to find joy in the journey itself.
Weird Coincidence
As I was writing this, I received an email from one of my newsletter subscriptions. It had a quote that felt like the sign I was looking for:
“One of the great mistakes in life is suffering for years because you didn’t want to feel foolish for five minutes.
You don’t want to apologize, so you let a relationship deteriorate.
You’re scared of the sting of rejection, so you don’t ask for what you want.
You fear people will say your idea is dumb, so you never start the business.
Nobody likes feeling foolish, but the feeling fades quickly.
The willingness to endure five minutes of discomfort turns out to be a meaningful dividing line in life.”— James Clear, 2024
What Kind of Content Can You Expect Here?
Posts about the challenges of being a software developer in this day and age
Code snippets that help me in my day-to-day
Dad jokes (because who doesn’t love a good dad joke?)