A Day in the Life
Howdy!
I think like most people it’s sometimes hard to stay motivated in what you’re doing. Especially when it comes to the job search. You’ve spent so many hours working hard and when you finally think things are going to be easy, you keep getting doors slammed in your face.
I remember seeing one of my favorite authors, Michio Kaku, speak at a seminar and I asked him what can you do when you feel like you don’t have the motivation to keep striving for your dream; and he replied with “Remember what it was like to be a child and to look up into the sky and be filled with curiosity? Imagine being that child again, filled with curiosity wanting to learn and discover more. Let that be the motivator for you to keep reaching for the stars.”
This has stayed with me for years, and especially right now when I feel like I’m getting no where I have to remind myself to look up at the sky to remind myself. So, what do I do? I go on Linkedin and I look through all the space news I can find. Not just American companies like NASA and SpaceX but the ESA, CNSA (China), ISRO (India), and JAXA (Japan). I read up on what they’re trying to do and what they are achieving. I have been lucky enough to connect with someone on Linkedin who works for NASA that gave me so many resources of space agency contractors that I can look into and research about. Not only him but I have the pleasure to connect with so many people and learn about how they did things and what they would have done differently, that inspire me to keep pushing.
Having to deal with my imposter syndrome has also put a halt on things for me, but again I have been blessed to talk to so many amazing developers who want to help me that I have found many resources to help me study. Everyone has heard of leetcode and hackerrank but I was shown a github repo for Javascript algorithm questions that have made studying a little less intimidating. (If you’re interested you can find it here). As well as some Udemy courses for studying, which again atleast in my opinion is so much less intimidating then staring at the list of algorithm questions on leetcode sorted through acceptance rate and ranking.
Aside from studying DS + Algos, I have finally started working on personal projects to make for myself to make me happy. I have a few non personal projects currently on my plate but my first personal project I am working on is a portfolio for myself. Many people have told me its crucial that I have one, and I finally followed up on the advice and started coding. I have been so wrapped up in finding a job I forgot about my initial passion for coding. I have only created the basic skeleton for it but even doing so and setting up containers and reducers and the store for my app, I have remembered why I am so in love with this world. Its hard work but at the same time it comes so easily to me, and to see something start from nothing go to a dynamic app that can be deployed and seen by numerous people is so exhilarating to me that I am anxious to finish already just to see how it came out.
The point I’m trying to make is that, I know I’m not established yet, but even if you’re in the same spot as I am or if you’re far into your career never forget the reason why you started in the first place. Sometimes you need to take a step back and talk to others who were once in your shoes so you can get a grip on reality again. Sometimes you need to try things you’re scared of like finally studying those dreaded whiteboard questions or learning Node.js. Sometimes you just need to look up into the sky and pretend you’re 6 again. But the point is to never lose the spark.
