You know how the old saying goes, “When life hands you a newborn and a global pandemic, you change careers.” Right? Right?!?!

It was an odd feeling when it hit me, a type of determination I hadn’t ever felt before. That’s not to say I was listless before but this was just… different. The sun was rising through the blinds and it was quiet except for the squeak of the rocking chair and the little sounds of a baby taking her bottle. I was holding my new daughter, our first child, and the usually busy street outside our home was ghostly quiet. Only those workers whose tasks were deemed essential were out that morning. The rest of us remained at home in collective apprehension as the world around us became more unrecognizable with each passing hour. It was an odd feeling indeed, to feel that determination in a moment where everything seemed so uncertain.

We had talked about it for over a year as we planned our family. A need to change career paths in order to raise our children and live the lifestyle we wanted. This wasn’t a desire to become rich but to have the ability to work from home, with some schedule flexibility that allowed us to do some homesteading and be present parents. Restaurant management requires a commitment of 50 or more hours away from home each week and the pay is often not enough for a household to get by on alone. The time commitment required for a return to schooling seemed prohibitive. We would have to work with what we had. Through the year I have developed some photo editing and graphic design skills making event posters for bars and restaurants, in addition to often managing their social media accounts and marketing campaigns. At one spot, I even took on the updating of their website and enjoyed that as it reminded me of my time doing contracting work. A plan began to form, I would teach myself web development and augment those abilities with my social media and marketing experience. We just had to find the time to do it.

We had talked about it for over a year as we planned our family....We just had to find the time to do it.

When the quarantine hit, some folks baked bread, others conquered video games and even more watched Tiger King. I did all of that but I also took the opportunity to dive into the seemingly endless and free educational resources out there for programming languages. I picked up free promo codes for online courses and ran through those while doing more benign coursework at Free Code Camp. There were hours of banging my head against the desk before the breakthrough. Every step of the way, self doubt has been with me. I look at the testimonials of those who have taken a similar self taught path and career change and take heart that they felt the same uncertainties and doubts along the way. There will be a future entry detailing the resources out there and offering my own testimonial when I feel I have the experience and momentum to offer something worth saying. For now, I will continue my education, take on projects to build my portfolio and keep trying to pry open a window of opportunity.