GoKawiil“If you don’t learn how to use AI, you’re going to be left behind.”
So leave me behind.
I learned to build Android applications in 2014. I was in college taking a Java programming class, when a classmate shared a free online course to learn Android development. The goal was short: build a todo list app with local storage.
When I completed the minimum requirements, I unplugged my phone from my laptop and went over to my parents to show them what I built. I often refer to this as my “lightbulb moment”. Here in my hands was a real, tangible piece of software that I built and could interact with. It wasn’t the first time I programmed something, but it was the first time I had an application on a device that I could carry over and show someone. The app lived in my pocket, always available when I needed it, to help me stay organized and productive.
Immediately, I realized a sense of purpose in my work. I was learning the skills necessary to give people direct access to a tool that can create a truly positive impact. I fully experienced this first hand in 2018 when I found myself working on the very dating app I would use to meet my wife.
After taking this first course, I would spend the next decade honing my skills as an Android developer. I helped maintain a number of applications with real world, tangible benefits for others - whether that’s finding their special someone, gaining easier access to their medications, or supporting them to travel and see all of the beauty this world has to offer.
As I look back on this journey so far, it’s not the outcome of these applications that I cherish most. It’s the people who have made it all happen.
In the beginning of my journey, my goal was to consume as much information as I could. I would sign on every week to my course and learn everything the professor could teach me about Android. I would take another course where Googlers taught me how to build a weather app, and I couldn’t get enough of these experiences. I would sit down and work on the weather app in between every class, or even instead of taking a proper lunch break. I was in awe of the depth of knowledge of the people behind the camera, and their willingness to share it publicly for others to benefit from.
The next few years would be spent practicing by building. I attended over a dozen hackathons, connecting with hundreds of other enthusiastic budding software engineers who were just as enamored with the spirit of building. I’d hop in a car with a couple of friends and drive anywhere from two to eight hours, where we’d spend three days getting about as many hours of sleep building social apps, pet trackers, and even NFC tag capture the flag games. We’d amp ourselves up with caffeine, argue over tech stacks, and spend a weekend full of laughter, friendship, and the unbridled pride of building something as a team. It didn’t matter what we built, it didn’t matter if we won a prize, the reward was in the experience.
Upon graduation, I found myself working at a digital marketing company. I started my first day as a professional Android developer so inspired to take everything I had learned and bring my skills to new heights. I met the teammate who would sit next to me in the office, and one of his first questions was “What do you know about RxJava?”
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