First day of JSB CodeSmith

Hi all, my name is Millan and I am an aspiring Javascript developer. I was born and raised in Chile and immigrated to the US with my family in the 90's when I was a kid. I am also queer and trans.

I just started one of CodeSmith's prep courses called Javascript for Beginners. I've been working on the CSX course along with SoloLearn in preparation for this which has been very helpful. I have ADHD that makes me want to learn every at the same time, so I end up getting paralysis and learning nothing.

Back in the early days of the interwebs I used to look at the source code on webpages because I was fascinated by it, it was simple HTML and CSS, and before Chrome had the dev tools feature. Later I got obsessed with python through running Kali Linux through VirtualBox, admittedly to hack into wifi networks around me for free internet. Eventually I started teaching myself to build sites using builders like WP and Weebly (remember them?) but after putting in some time playing with Python scripts I wanted to learn more about the function behind the code. I started Lambda School in 2017 and in the time I was there I learned some basic HTML, CSS, Javascript, and React. At the time I was dealing with a lot of issues around immigration and transition and sadly had to drop out. This was more than 10 years ago at this point and now I'm ready to give it another shot. On this blog I intend to document my journey to becoming a software engineer, hopefully inspiring other queers and BIPOC to take the dive and enter the tech space. Equity in tech is important because its a way to pull ourselves out of intergenerational poverty by breaking into careers that were never before accessible to people who cannot afford college. I'm grateful to finally be in a place to give this a shot. Connect with me through Twitter, Github, IG, LinkedIn, FB, and TikTok (links in my profile). I'd love to hear from other folks that are also on this journey or considering it!