Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

A fresh start? My first entry, blog, whatever ever, is here. A couple of weeks ago, I got a haircut. No big deal for almost every person that I know, except, I've had my 'locs' for almost 20 years. I've cut them low, I've dyed them, re-twists, etc. But, after some complications with my hair, physical stresses, and sort of an emotional 'exhale', I sat in the chair talking with this lovely woman (that I met, like, 48 seconds ago) and without going through the options of what I could do to salvage my mangy hair, I just said "let's cut it". After the deed was done, I texted my fiancée to tell her that I cut it and she replied "no matter what, I love you, and you'll be hot regardless". She's so polite in her little lies to make me feel like I've done the right thing. But, you shouldn't get caught up in reading about me. This story would take us a 2-hour coffee break for me to get to the point, because I'm one of those people who drone on about the minutiae of intricate things you're clearly uninterested....

Right, yes, a new beginning...

The point of that initial story is, career change, hair change, picking up a new talent, going to a gym, etc... All of these things can be daunting in their own ways. New faces or obstacles. New technologies or terminology. Should you do it? Is it worth the risk? We focus sooooo much on what's the worse that can happen, but rarely on what's are some of the best possible outcomes.

I was annoyed at thinking of how many people were going to ask about what happened and why I cut my hair. But, after a couple of weeks, that faded away. A couple of months ago, I left my job to focus on my efforts on diving deeper into the tech side of things, but also incorporate my science background into whatever new journey I began.

So what's the point, why bring this up? I don't know who you are, but chances are you've gotten this far, not reading this (probably not too hard), but where you are today. Whether or not you battle some sort of imposter syndrome or feel if you are or aren't ready... you've gotten this far. A junior developer looking to get into the field. A senior engineer learning a new tech stack. A project manager going after what could be the biggest, most defining obstacle of their career. You got this far. You made it this far. You could fail. You could suck. You could barely pass. You could succeed.

You could... only if you try. Is it worth the risk? I'm not you, but take a second to think about both outcomes and not just the one that excites your ego or feeds your doubt. I personally think you've got this. But, I'm just a random voice in your head. Peace.