What is my why?
“If you can imagine it, you can create it. If you can dream it, you can become it”
— William Arthur Ward
Why did I start Lambda School? Well, last Summer, I was confined to my bed with a severely broken leg. Casted up to the hip, needing to keep my leg elevated. I was bored and isolated. My entire social life was Facebook and a grumpy husband who was not very supportive of caring for me. The marriage was not a happy one, to say the least. I left my busy town to move in with him to his desert property in the middle of nowhere. I was an RN, but there are no nursing jobs close to where we live and I couldn’t move further away due to exchanges with my kids. Besides, I hadn’t done patient care since 2008 when I left nursing to care for my sick kids and homeschool them. Going back into nursing would have required a lot of studying to catch up on new medications and procedures; I’d also have to pay the BRN a lot of money. I really didn’t want to ever work a night shift, again (which, I would have to do because I was no longer a “seasoned nurse)”.
The town we live in is a seasonal town and jobs are scarce. So, I was looking for ways to work from home: selling online, teaching Chinese kids ESL (but, the times to teach were 2 AM — 6 A M and required a level of Internet speed we don’t have). Going back to Facebook — one late night, an ad popped up for Lambda School. I was intrigued about the “not paying anything upfront.” But, I hated computers, for the most part. After reading through the program options, UX Design caught my eye! I had done some coding with my oldest son through Minecraft Mod Design, but I didn’t master anything. And, the more I read about UX Designers, I felt nursing prepared me for it! Why? They both require empathy, research, attention to detail, problem solving, and outstanding customer service. Plus, I would love to redesign computerized charting systems for hospitals. I mean, how often do you have a nurse turned UX Designer?
I looked through the pre-course work and did everything. Then, I got to the challenge. I had never done any type of graphic design before. What was worse is that the training video used Sketch, something I would not be able to use. Well, I was up for the challenge, and I had all the time in the World! I ended up using a program called Figma. I watched the training video about 10+ times while I tried to do the same thing with Figma on a separate computer. Understand, they are completely different programs with different names for many things. I watched all of the Figma Youtube videos. I completed and turned in the project two weeks early, but I turned it in early because a few of the students I met in the Stand Up had to redo them several times. I was expecting to have to correct many things. But, I was wrong! I was accepted into the program!! I think I was more excited than when I got accepted into nursing school!
I started the UX program September 3, 2019. My TL, Julie was amazing and hard on us. And guess what? I liked it! I told her to stay hard on me, otherwise I might get lazy. Sadly, in January, the day before I was to complete my second Build Week presentation, I opted to Flex due to ongoing family issues. So, I went back an entire Unit, but it took a lot of stress off me. I didn’t turn in the same projects…I made sure the second ones were better! The first instructor was awesome. The second instructor taught straight from the Tool Kit. Since I always pre-read the Tool Kit, the lectures got boring. Towards the end of the second Build, our quarantine occurred. And, Lambda announced the changes to the UX program. One change was dropping JavaScript. We were given the option to transfer. And, since my main goal was to be a true Unicorn, eventually, I felt Full Stack Web Dev would make that happen much sooner. So, I made a decision to take on an even harder challenge. And, here I am.
Thankfully, family issues are over and I have all the time in the World, again. And, I’m truly passionate about Web Dev. It is literally the last thing I would have ever thought I’d do back a year ago. So, bring on the challenge! I might start out as one of the slower students, but I won’t give up! I WILL become a true Unicorn! Oh, and hubby and I are doing great!
