ImJessW

I like to think of my life as some version of version control ,l however life is harder than just pushing a single Git command to get back to an old version of yourself or committing to a new one. I think the trouble with any push is if you have to revert back you feel like you lose something of value. Those couple lines of code that you know is great that’s swimming in the of hot mess that you have added since your last push. So push early, push often. Reverting isn’t a bad thing.  It just means you are getting back to a functional version of yourself with the intent of making improvements. So as humans we have to “Always Be Pushing” a phrase I use with my coding students over and over again. That phrase may very well be my overarching theme this year.

Like many, I have decided to set a few goals for the coming year. Those goals wrap up nicely into the “Always be Pushing”  mantra. This year I want to really push myself; push myself to be better, be brighter, be bolder, be smarter; more valuable to my community and to those closest to me. Now I am not making any promises to change all my behaviors over the next year, let’s be real - I’m too stubborn to change all the things I see as flaws. . Besides, no one wants a no carb, no bacon eating Jess… Also, no one should change all their quirks or there  would be nothing to aim for in the following years resolution.

This year instead, I choose to really double down on my strengths and enhance areas that have presented themselves as potential strengths. For those of you who know me, I am not one to take praise particularly well - I generally brush it off and change subjects, as I am my own worst critic. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty happy where I am at in life, but I know I haven’t hit my greater goals yet. This year will hopefully be one of the most pivotal in my career. I had lots of fun last year, I traveled, I made the best friends a girl could dream of from countries all over the world, I fell in love with the idea of moving abroad and now it is time to work. I need to work to get my career to the next level so I can make myself as invaluable asset to any company of my choosing where ever I want in the world. Bold statement, I know. But now that this is out in the universe I have to follow through.  This means honing my skills as a Product Manager; continuing to become a better Developer because I have learned how quickly forget when you aren’t practicing daily; stop focusing on boys - because distraction; bring back HelloDevs with a bang as it still stands as the thing I am most proud of.

The ultimate goal for all of us is to push forward while having a copy of what you have done with an intent on refactoring and enhancing future iterations. So we need to keep the parts that are good, get rid of the things that aren’t working, enhance and rebuild things to be more functional for us. To a happier New Year and one that pushes you forward.

This year will be my biggest yet. Not in the New Year, New Me way but I have very distinct goals to accomplish and KPI’s (Key Performance Indicator)  for each. These changes didn’t come with the date change of January 2016, they came as a result of thinking and dissecting exactly what it is I need to meet my own level of success. Quite frankly, had I had my  “Come to Jesus” moment in July, and I would have written this then but alas, I am older and wiser. I realize as a Product Manager I have to wear many hats, I have to be agile and I have to turn out a functional and meaningful product. Not to get all metaphor-y on you but, the greatest product I will ever work on is myself. I always need to be making tweaks and adjustments. I always need to provide value across platform (for my work, my community and with those closest to me). I will work tirelessly for my next company to make it their product great, but I realize I need that same level of dedication to continually be working on myself as well. As a PM I have a structure to building. Why wouldn’t I use these same tools and structure in my own life? Just as one does in Web Development, I must Always be pushing.

First thing on my radar is get a rad PM job. I want to work with wildly intelligent people who inspire me, challenge me and bring new perspective to how to think. I want to work with people who love what they do on a product that matters. Always be pushing.

Become a expert PM. And what does that even mean?! Alright, so this one will take much longer than a year but even though I am a slow runner I will still finish the race and continue to run until I get first place at the next one. I don’t do well with second best.  This means I need to really figure out best practices from top influencers and product Gurus around the world. There is no formal training for this career path - leave it to me to continue to have to make my career up as I go. Yes, there are mentors out there that I fully intend to learn from but I also need to do the dirty work. This means at minimum I must read 3 articles a week plus watch an hour worth of product talks. Now I know, I know, this will not make me an expert but if I do manage to read a minimum of 156 articles this year on product and watch/participate in 52 hours worth of talks I will be much better off that I would be otherwise. I am excited to discover the unknowns and find the unknowns I have yet to come across. Practice makes perfect and as I continue to seek out thought leaders, I will inevitably have a better grasp on my job and on my opinions around what I find to be best practices. Always be pushing.

Hello to HelloDevs, again. There is no secret this is the single thing I am most proud of to date. However, I “got busy” and I “didn’t have time” you know the usual things that keep us from pursuing things we love. I say no more to this. I loved working on this. I loved how it affected the lives that went through the program. This means I will be hosting once a month code and coffee’s; a couple hack-a-thons for Jr Developers; more classes for those wanting to learn and improve; provide resources; build a better community; lastly, create a safe space for learning because this shit aint easy. Always be pushing.

Speaking of shit not being easy, I have a code list of projects, that I want to work on. I realized recently that sadly I have let my coding take so much of a back seat it takes me a considerable amount of time fumbling around to make things work. (I know, welcome to web development.) I want to be a better Developer. Thank God, I have friends who are practically saints that can help me understand what I don’t remember or simply what I don’t understand. Sometimes people are the greatest, and thank god the tech world has roughly a billion great people in it to help me on my journey. I have created this list of projects that I have been wanting to do or learn to use but quite frankly have been too scared to try as I am afraid of failure. My failure indeed was more in the fact that I didn’t try, now I am fixing that. I would be better if I had actually tried. I have roughly 12 projects to work on with acceptance criteria for each. I need to be better. My students deserve better and also HelloDevs deserves a better leader than what I have been providing. That was a hard truth to come to and probably the root of my excuse “ I don’t have time”. This will be fixed. I will be better. Full list of projects: Code My Way to a Better Developer. Always be pushing.

By the end of this year I want to be able to move to another country. I very much intend on making my mark on this world and I can’t do it from just one place.  I of course have a massive travel bug so there is no surprise I would want to live someplace with a new adventure and new cultures. Now this doesn’t mean I will 100% be moving abroad this year but it means I am going to spend this next year making my skill set so valuable I could move anywhere in the world and work on things I love. I think so much can be gained from living abroad. So much can also be gained career wise by working abroad, New perspectives to be had, new ideas to hear about and new experiences to grow from. This will undoubtedly be something I will work for and achieve. This is important to me. Always be pushing.

Probably the most shocking and most personal will be the fact that I don’t intend to date this year. Yep, you heard me right, No boys. Don’t get me wrong - this isn’t some bra burning statement of feminism (Although fuck yeah feminist). This is simply that they don’t fall into the plan. My time and focus will be on my career and my passions. I simply don’t have time. It isn’t my priority. Being the best Developer, PM and community leader are where my loyalties lie. I have heard ‘you can’t have it all’, I still don’t know that that is true but what I do know is I wasted a lot of time last year on boys. Everything from the time consuming boyfriends to the endless, mindless swiping left and right, I just don’t have time for that. All of my dating apps have been removed with no intention of reinstalling. Hours on hours on hours of my life are gone do to the online dating distraction. It wasn’t providing the value I needed. Now this isn’t to say that I haven’t met some great guys on these sites but I need to focus on what is next for me. The “right person” will come along when he needs to and I am in no rush to settle down.  I have questions around my future that I need answered before I drag someone else into the crazy. I have goals that are just far more important to me at this time.  Always be pushing.

Lastly some short and sweet goals both fun and personal. I wants to have a Roaring 20s Birthday party, one Jay Gatsby, Zelda Fitzgerald and F.Scott Fitzgerald would be proud of. I want to Become a better photographer specifically - street photography. I love taking pictures. I am not as keen on being a good photo editor. This is a massive problem of mine, I take a trillion photos and never make time to edit them, since I love photography I will start making time to do this. Through all this, my last goal is to become a better writer. This has been on my list for a couple years but I never really had the courage to pursue it in a way that made me totally comfortable, so I once again, “didn’t have time”. This will change as I continue to write this blog. Practice makes perfect.  Always be pushing.

This is a list of projects I want to build, technology I want to use and Api’s I want to build with in 2016. Some of these things I have done in the past but would like a refresher (Building DB, using Passport.js, etc). I will tick these off as I accomplish them.

Use Google Drive API with Raspberry Pi- I want to create an app that lets me use photos in a particular drive folder and send it to my TV as a screensaver.

Successfully create have a commit accepted to Hack Against Slavery.

Instagram API- I want to build a website that gives a custom view of my Instagram.

Write a React.js Application

Write an Angular App

Create a DB with MongoDB

Use Passport.js- Authenticate people on a project I am working on.

Use Polymer

Build a Swift App (iOS)- I haven’t touched mobile and i would love to see what it is about.

Use Twilio API- Send encouraging notes to people - A cheerleader app, if you will.

Use Google analytics API

Learn LESS/SASS

// Note this was written before New Years

Wow. I am not sure how to respond to this. One minute I’m like “WTF happened to 2014” and the next I’m all like “Bring it on B*tch” and that’s quickly followed by “What do I do next?” None of that is really entirely suitable for encapsulating my 2014 experience. But alas, no matter where my feelings fall, 2015 has officially arrived.

2013 was my year to Defy Gravity - my goal was to do things I was scared to do and do things people said I couldn’t (two points of reference: Learning to code - Booyah - and moving to a huge city where I knew no one. Especially since NYC has a reputation for chewing people up and spitting them out.)

2014 was my year to prove myself. I spent a scary long time unemployed (6 excruciating months) in a very expensive city.  I had to really work for what I have and my hustle was off the charts. I painted houses, babysat, and returned to work at best buy for a month before getting my job with the ADP Innovation Lab. By the will of God I made it through with only a few bumps and bruises. This year I found my voice more than I ever have before. I have learned to “Own My Shit.” In other words, that means to know what the hell you are good at and be willing to tell everyone. I learned what a healthy relationship really looks and feels like- to which I am so grateful for. And recently I learned that people who want to be in your life will make sure that they stay in your life no matter the changes or phases you you go through.

My year in New York has given me so very much.

New Friends- All the J’s in my life- Jenn, Jon, Redhead Jess, Jimmy, Jesse, my roommate Elizabeth who keeps me sane and so many others that have made me feel like I have family here.

New Adventures- Fire Island, Random days of exploring and photographing this great city. Here is proof! Instagram

New Ventures - HelloDevs

New jobs - ADP Innovation Lab - Where they treat us like royalty.

New opportunities to teach and be involved with the tech and coding community - NYTechWomen, Bella Minds, Girl Develop it and of course teaching at Barnard College for Athena Digital Design. I even had a girl take my class who changed her major to Comp Sci because of the classes I taught.

New outlook on life - Own My Shit, Who ever stays in my life will love me for me.

A few new Lessons - Never take no for an answer, Hustle Harder, I am above no job, Don’t drink so much on company outings (oops! But really, free alcohol in NYC. I saved like a trillion dollars.)

I am thankful for being a Texan - Trust me I’m just as shocked and surprised by this as all of you.

Oh I now have and a myriad of ways to order food online! This one may be the most tangible and wonderful of them all.

I have had so many wins this year. I have has some losses too, but overall I can’t believe what I am doing with my life. Nothing really went as planned but I wouldn’t have had the journey or the memories that I treasure so much if they had.

I am not quite sure what to hope for in this new year. My tradition of writing down my yearly “Fuck It List” doesn't quite seem as appropriate as it has in years past. I am baffled at all that I have accomplished and yet few things that I accomplished landed on my 2014 list. I guess that is why they say life is a journey.  Who knows, creating my fuckit list may still happen, since it has given me so much in the past, but realistically I know what I want this year.

I’m realizing I need to be a bit more selfish - with my time and my resources - by focusing on things I want to do with people I want to do them with and letting go of the outside bullshit and standards I tend to place on myself. My goals are to travel, have grand adventures, do things that scare me, stay positive, keep pushing myself and really just learn more about myself as a total person. I see my style and my priorities changing and I need to see where that takes me.

I guess I am hopeful that 2015 will be my year to be me, no more proving myself to anyone but myself, no more investing my time in things I think are stupid and just enjoy the moment and the journey I am on.

Hi! It’s been a while.

There is no way to properly catch you up since my last post in February but let me give you the Glee synopsis in 30 seconds

Work life: I got a job! Yay me! I work for ADP as a Developer Evangelist basicly a job where I get to be a little bit of everything and utilize my jackofalltrades strengths(I’m part Product Owner, part PR,  write a very basic level of technical documentation and I  : I work with both platform and the app devs who will to make the platform better.)  I also teach code (HTML, CSS and JavaScript) at Barnard College for Athena Digital Design. I have a trillion students Okay 40 students ut the equivalent to a trillion in some version of math, I’m sure. I started a program called HelloDevs,   developers leverage their past experience as they pivot into web development jobs I am  proud of this feat. I am the Developer Advocate for NYTechWomen great because I get to meet  women  work along side my best friend Jenn Shaw.

Personal life: Ah-mazing! I am dating the love of my life- he treats me like a princess and I have a great set of friends inside and outside of work. Inside of work the running joke is I look like a Disney Princess when I get dolled up uite frankly I am super happy about that. I am starting to branch out and try new things- because that’s what NYC is all about- and am trying to work harder on a better work life balance. Additionally I have conquered a 5k and a 10k on my own time running with Coss Athletics- ow to do it in areal race so I can get a meal :). My workouts are about to ramp up here soon.

  Now on to today’s lesson..

  Work Life Balance and Life’s Little Luxuries

  Man oh manis this ever the pain point of my life. Every time I think I have the perfect balance between work and life I add another thing to my plate. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Were talking without fail. I was on a cruise with my boyfriendand I told him  I finally figured it out - I need to make time for me. He is a huge advocate for personal time and  trying to learn from him because I  We talked aboutr when I got back from vacation I was going to go to work, do my teaching and make sure I am doing things for myself. olid plan, right?!

  Well I  ut then I changed my hours at work and I started a new program (more details on that soon:)). Suddenly I was right back where I started, no free time. I have once again vow that I will regain my personal time I take the hours between work and teaching to do something for me. I am not fantastic at it yet but it’s a start.  My reason for making these changes is to avoid burnout. Marissa Mayer said “ I have a theory that burnout is about resentment. And you beat it by knowing what it is you’re giving up that makes you resentful. I tell people: Find your rhythm. Your rhythm is what matters to you so much that when you miss it you’re resentful of your work.” I believe we can become resentful at our lack of time and at ourselves for letting it happen. I want to avoid burnout at all cost.

So,I started to think today about what makes me happy, I have the traditional answers (family, friends, ect) but what is it that I can do feel at peace . I refer to as my “Little Luxuries”. Little luxuries don’t generally cost a lot or take up a lot of time but they do give you a sense of being in control and give you an opportunity on a small scale to get centered. They aren’t always e things but we all have a  that . For me,  drinking a good latte when I am stressed, exploring Central Park and running- particularly over the Manhattan bridge into Brooklyn Bridge park and back or through CPhen I was insanely poor making Kale chips  a big deal. hese are things guarantee I will be happy for at least a short time, because I am doing it for me and me alone. My mind settles during this process, I think clearly and I de-stress. Today I did a one off from just my traditional little luxuries I walked down to a little cafe in Harlem and got my Mocha but on the way up I noticed some beautiful roses. On the way back I thought what the hell and picked myself up a dozen roses for 6 bucks. They weren’t expensive but they made my day I did it for myself and that is what made them special.

etween work, my lesson plans,office hours and my personal life I try to take the time to have a moment for myself. Going forward I will reduce the number of things on my plate and NOT ADD MORE TO THEM! I promise, like pinky promise- that is about as serious as you can get. I will find a rhythm for myself.

I think in order to have the proper work life balance you have to remember first and foremost to remember yourself. I am not talking about being selfish but saying that no matter how hectic your life gets with work, kids, schedules, meetings,ect, know what makes you feel good at a moments notice.  push forward onto  next goal

  the wise words of Aziz Ansari from Parks and Rec remember to:

Treat Yo self!

If you know me, you know that I love Google. Not like a normal 23-year-old girl loves Google. Like chocolate meets glitter meets unicorns love. I REALLY love Google. 

I have a passion for tech and all things innovative. Google embodies both of those traits. Those two things are ingrained into the DNA of the company.

With that as setup: I had the most amazing experience last Saturday at Google’s New York offices. The whole thing was set around International Women's Day. I spent the day in a room with some of the smartest, brightest, most inspirational women on the planet, all successful in their own right, all proponents of making tech a tool in women's lives across the planet. We were all there to celebrate women and the contributions we make to society.

One of the major focuses of the day was the tremendous impact we have as women. The power we have to affect real change is vast - teaching a family member about how tech can make their life better; empowering women in Africa to run their own businesses selling handmade jewelry; having an Avon style business structure for selling solar powered flashlights. We can illuminate houses, countries, and especially bring light to women's lives as entrepreneurs.  

I was super excited even before I got there. I mean, I was going to hear superstar speakers (including one of my close friends, Jenn Shaw of Bella Minds and New York Tech Women), get free food, maybe a grab bag and generally enjoy an entire Saturday in my personal real life Willy Wonka Factory.   

But I got so much more than the (amazing) free food, and an (amazing) grab bag, and (amazing) words from my role models. I got to build relationships with these, successful wonderful women. I believe that it’s important for everyone to  learn to code - even if at the most rudimentary level – because it’s such a powerful tool. But this conference also did an amazing job of highlighting that you don't have to be a “coder” to effect change. The marketing person, the business person, the person who stands in front of the cameras – they’re all important parts of the whole. You can be what ever you want to be and it’s insanely valuable if you are passionate about what you do. The whole conference was about creating a revolution of innovators to solve big problems in areas like as disaster communication and trying to end the political censorship of the web. Everyone  who spoke was passionate about finding solutions to big problems and attacking them full force. 

I love seeing women tackle huge challenges. I like women who are gutsy, who see a problem and then fix it. It’s a beautiful thing to see these powerful and talented women take over the world.

Here’s the bottom line.

Own your talents. Do what makes you happy. Make good art in whatever medium you choose. And put as much good in the world as you possibly can.

Life has a funny way of putting you on your ass when you least expect it. For example -  someone finishes school in web development, gets a job in the best place in the world (New York City), and uproots her whole life to move. She's on the path of dreams, to becoming an awesome web developer, and then ... gets fired two and a half weeks later on the day before Christmas Eve. That someone was me. 

I was in a new career, in a new city, where I knew very few people. I had just signed a 1 year lease and nothing seemed to add up. I had the education and I had the passion, and I still got fired before I really understood the job I was hired for. I had no idea how to handle this, because I took a chance and it backfired on me. 

I  felt like a failure. The blow to my ego was substantial, especially because I'd gambled it all. So what do you do? What do you do when everything is new?

I did what I knew best. I turned to my inner circle of mentors and advisors. These people are all successful, smart and talented. I trust these people. I called them all. It was so hard to tell them what happened. They unilaterally told me it would be okay, that it was that company's loss and I was going to look back at this challenge as something that was for the best. All of that sounds great but it also sounds like things that were ripped from a Hallmark card - not something you want to hear when you are jobless in a new city.  Some made introductions for me to people who may be hiring. Some said "cheer up buttercup" it gets better. But by far the best thing that happened was that they all expressed why they valued me as an individual and as a worker. 

To have this group of people answer the phone and take the time  for me was by the best thing I could have ever asked for. Every one of them has a busy life, and a million things they're doing every day, and the still took the time to lend a hand to help me feel better. My people believed in me. They saw the value of who I was as a person and what my talents were. 

When you are in the middle of a pity party its hard to see the value you bring. It is good to keep a carefully aggregated group of people you trust because they'll helps you keep perspective.

Being unemployed sucks. No question. But having a network to support me while I was going through such a crazy transition is the thing that saved me. I love these people for taking the time for me and  I cant express the impact they have had in my life.

I have a love for all things gadgets and gizmos.

It all started several years ago when I was working at Best Buy. I was astounded by the ability brand new tech had to connect people in new ways. Hell, I may be young, but I still remember when the coolest thing ever was to be able to text your friends, and there were only 200 precious texts to ration between them all.

Today I can tweet someone I’ve never met and strike up a real conversation; Snapchat pictures of the ugliest face I can make without worrying, because it disappears in seconds (provided they don’t screenshot it); and stream any song I want out of the millions recorded, for 7 to 10 bucks a month. And all of this on my choice of phone, tablet, laptop, or using Chromecast.

So yeah, I wanted to be a part of this revolution in technology. Gadgets started it all for me.

Then, I wanted (and still want) to change the world. How do you even do that? I decided to explore amazing ideas and collaboration with the smartest people I can find – a life in a crazy thing called startups.

It’s one word, an umbrella that represents opportunities to wear multiple hats, solving problems in new ways, and a creative community that has the ability to make a difference. I like being on the ground level of change.

I like that even though startups can and will have more ups and downs than the best ride at Six Flags, I have an opportunity to make something epic.The idea that a single company can change millions of lives is astounding and inspiring (case in point Google).

I wanted to learn to code because I want to be a builder, to make the products that shape my daily life. I know when I wake up in the morning I can make something that only existed in my head and share it with the world in a matter of hours. That is a superpower, ladies and gentleman. That is why I love to code.

My passion for tech and making new things is the driving force for much, if not all my behavior. I want to look back and say I made a difference wether big or small, the world is different because I was here. I want to build things that people love.

So here I am. I have been a web developer for a whopping 5 months, come Feb 9th. Ten weeks of that were my immersive, life-changing full stack Javascript bootcamp at RefactorU. I know I have a lot to learn, but what’s exciting is this:

Just like there is a rad tech community that inspired me when I was figuring myself out, there is a fantastic community of web developers, and coding peeps that I can turn to for inspiration now. I count myself so lucky to be on this adventure right now, this second in the universe.

One of my mentors told me when I graduated from RefactorU “Good luck and make rad shit.”

Per social protocol, I did what many do this time of year – set new goals to hit during the 365 days ahead. My goals are a mixture of the feasible, the ridiculous, a mix of things easy to attain and hard to imagine.  Last year I came up with what I call the “F*ck It List”, since I think I’m too young for a true bucket list. The F*ck It List came about when my life was everywhere but where I wanted to be, and so I listed things that in an ideal world I could possibly accomplish. And then, because of this silly list I made in January, the craziest thing happened. I had the best year of my life!  Since the F*ck It List 2013 was such a success, I decided to carry this tradition into 2014.