First of all, I wanna thank the guys behind Steem for this great project. It's really a breath of fresh air and truly unique.
I found out about Steemit and Steem itself on the mighty realms of Reddit and I though to give it a try. I was stunned to see how many great topics are discussed over here and how engadged the community is.
What follows is a little story about my life experience in the last few years
I am a 21 year old weirdo living in Bucharest, Romania. Quite a great city if you ask me, but is has got really big problems, too. Maybe I'll write down an article about it sometime. Maybe...
I'm a computer science student and a junior UI/UX designer. I also do logo designs from time to time.
What...?
Yeah, people usually tell me that computer science doesn't really go well with design because they're two completely different things. Well, they are right in some sort of way, but they're also wrong. Let's say I didn't quite make the greatest choice when I wanted to go study computer science and now I'm kinda struggling with it because it wasn't as awesome as I thought it would be.
I've developed my artistic side since I was a kid. I've always loved music, drawing and arts in general. But, on the other hand, I'm also passionate about computers and technology - I'm always up to date with the latest news. Back when I was in high school, my programming classes were not taken very seriously and I've learned very little, but it was enough to make me think about studying computer science. And it was a pretty bad move...
Why?
I really thought that studying computer science would light that spark in me that made me want to become a software engineer. Hell, I was really sure about it. But once I started my studies, things began to go south. Very very south.
I could no pass most of my exams during my first year and I started realizing that this stuff's not for me. Not because I did not like computer science or writing code or anything like that, but because I did not picture myself doing that everyday for the next part of my life. It was something I liked, but that was it, liked. I was not passionate about it and I knew it.
But I went on for the second year...
I started my second year on the idea that I will put in much more effort than before. And I did, I really did, though it was not enough to completely change my mind and to make me think about following a career in computer science. My parents were not very happy with this. Not because I was not doing well with studies, but because they also kinda knew I did not make a right choice. Because it was strictly my choice, no one has ever pushed my into following this university. But little did I know that it was gonna be so difficult.
[x] First Year
[x] Second Year
[ ] Third Year
I could not gather the required credits to pass on to the third year and, while I fully expected that, I was naturally dissapointed about myself, thinking that I could've done more about it. But, on the other hand, it also gave me time to think about expanding my horizons, about doing something else, trying something new.
So I signed up for a UI/UX design internship with the thought that if I get in, cool, I will do this and see what comes through. But if I didn't get in, I would not apply anywhere else because that was the spot I thrived for.
They called me one morning...
And I got it. I remember I was so happy and felt I was finally doing something right with my life. But little did I know that this internship would basically lay down the foundation of my future. I realized that I love doing UI/UX design. I love building experiences to make people's lifes easier. You may wonder why I don't just simply call these experiences apps and websites - it's because that's what I strive for. I want to build things that engage the user while also helping them.
I definitelly think that I found my spot. This is what I want to do and expand on in the years to come. But I think you, the one reading this, have understood that by now.
What I wanna say is that you should never give up. Never ever give up on your dreams. And I know you may have heard this a thousand million times, but it really is essential to keep on trying until you succeed. Because you will.
As Master Yoda once said
Do or do not, there is no try
That is complete bullshit, even though I absolutely love Star Trek.
There is try and there is error. And then there's try again. And finally, there's success.
This is the best story I have to tell about me. I don't think that there's an introduction better than this. I tried to keep it as short as possible. Ask me anything in the comments.
You've reached this point? Thank you for reading and I really hope it has inspired you somehow.
If not, thank you anyway!
Călin