I'm a blogger again!
Why blog?
I've been working on being a better programmer and a better member of the programming community. So far, that process has been mostly passive and mostly private: reading articles, watching talk videos, keeping an eye on Twitter, and being a quiet member of the crowd at meetups. There have been exceptions, though, and they've been rewarding: I attended my first PyCon this year, and that experience prompted me to volunteer for the PyCon 2015 Programming Committee. With this blog, I hope to step even further toward actively and publicly exploring new concepts and improving myself as a programmer.
Why not blog earlier?
It's been nearly a decade since I last maintained a blog.1 I've spent a lot of the intervening time telling myself I should start blogging again, but I've always been able to come up with excuses not to. That stops now. Here, broadly, so I can't use them again, are those excuses in Q&A form:
-
What if the blog isn't useful?
- Even if no one else ever reads it, it will be useful to me! A blog is a good chance to practice writing and the process will force me to organize my thoughts on topics I write about.
-
What if I'm bad at programming?
- I've been programming professionally for the three years since I graduated without complaint about my technical ability. At worst, I'm an adequate programmer. Beyond that, this blog will help document my programming exploration and growth. The companies I'm interested will value capacity for growth and thoughtful exploration.
-
What if I'm bad at writing?
- Writing regularly for the blog will be great practice. Fingers crossed, bad writing now will only make my progress even more exciting later!
Failing Growing in Public
Even having discarded those excuses not to blog, making a record of my journey through programming is a little intimidating.2 It's important to remember that it's OK to fail, and that failure is just a part of the growth process. Failure and frustration3 can be a good sign that I'm trying things that are good challenges!
So that's really what this blog is for: to practice writing and reflecting while I practice programming, and above all to publicly practice thinking of challenges and failures as opportunities for growth. I hope you have as much fun with it as I will.