I remember some years ago, I imagined that at this stage in my life, I would be a physiotherapist and a software engineer.
Part of that dream has been actualized, the other part hasn't.
I eventually graduated and became a physiotherapist. While I was in school, I started an online course in software engineering. It was fun at the beginning. I made significant progress. Back then, school wasn't hectic and demanding for me, so I had enough time to dedicate to my software engineering journey. It was easy for me to balance school and my online course.
But as I progressed further in school, things changed. Life as a physiotherapy student turned out to be a bumpy ride. I got so occupied with school that I barely got the time for software engineering. Every weekday, I would go to the hospital for my clinical posting. From there I would go to classes till it got dark. I would get home tired, therefore sleeping till the next day only to repeat the cycle.
Even on weekends, I still didn't have the time. I was either occupied with one thing or another relating to my academics. This would go on for weeks, and before I knew it, exams would get close. Of course, when it comes to the exam period, you have to give your books your absolute focus. The things to study were always so much.
At some point, I knew I just had to suspend my interest in software engineering and focus on school. There was no way I could balance both. I decided that I would go back to software engineering after school. As much as I enjoyed building projects and learning new stuff on my software engineering journey, I knew at that point, I could only achieve one dream at a time.
As you may have figured out, my journey to being a physiotherapist was a demanding one, but I can say it was worth it. I remember in my final year how I had to go through hell and back because of my project. From the writing, to the data collection process to the concluding aspect, I had issues left, right and center. In addition to that, I had to try to catch up with studying because my final professional exam was fast approaching. That was the most stressful year of my life, but when it ended, I had the biggest feeling of fulfillment ever. I passed my exams, defended my project successfully and got my license and certificate.
I remember how happy I was about achieving all of these. In addition, I met a lot of amazing people. I had achieved one dream, and it was time to achieve the other.
I began my software engineering journey again, and truly it felt like I was starting all over again. I am still in the process of achieving my software engineering dream and I hope to get there someday.