Inspiration

Several things have happened lately that have started me thinking. First, I found a book while browsing Barnes and Noble with Ashley during the retreat in Columbus; The Passionate Programmer: Creating a Remarkable Career in Software Development by Chad Fowler. It's been a great read; it talks about things you can do as a software creator to not only rise above the average programmer, and not only shine among your peers, but to have a fire for your work and actually enjoy your accomplishments. Chad draws on his experience as a professional musician in addition to his work as a software engineer, and compares the skills that make artists in both fields really great. While I've never been a good enough musician to be a professional, I can see that many of his points are valid.

Also, I recently sat down with some friends to watch the movie Once. In that movie, a pair of penniless musicians meet by chance and discover a wonderful connection through their music. While they don't forge a romantic relationship in the movie, their artistic skills combine to create something beautiful and moving. I had been interested in rekindling my musical pursuits, and this movie really pushed me toward that desire. I would like to start working on my music again, slowly but surely. Maybe I'll finally start learning the acoustic guitar.

If that weren't enough, our good friend Kelly suggested on a lark that we plan a camping trip. It's been years since I've been camping with my Dad and my siblings, and immediately I was hooked to the idea. We've been putting a checklist together and buying basic gear, like a tent and sleeping bags. When we mentioned the trip to Chris and Holly, they surprised me by being really interested to go, too. We were lucky to find the one campground in Colorado with two open campsites on the weekend, and they are even next to each other! It's been such a long time, and I'm really looking forward to the trip. I'm looking forward to being away from the suburbs for a couple of days, up in the mountains, and to smelling the crisp air and camp fire smoke. I always remember that feeling so invigorating!

All in all, I feel very motivated to jump back into life with both feet. For the past year with the Army, I did a great job at a position with very low expectations. I showed up to work on time, left on time, and did my best to stay sane and engaged in between those times. Now that I'm back, I want to excel and be a leader, and have a clear purpose. I feel ready to make every moment of every day count. I know that feeling may be tempered with the realities of day-to-day living, but I want to at least keep the idea that I have a clear goal, and to keep the work ethic to reach it.

I don't want to be a programmer that always goes where they can find easy, mindless work, toiling away in the cubicle farms. If my God-given talent is as a programmer, then I want to be a great programmer. I want to break boundaries and work on exciting projects and solve the problems that others can't solve. Move over, Microsoft, here I come!