Fascinating.
I’m back to share more about myself with my friends here. You’ve survived this far, and you’re still coming back for more, so welcome back!
Ok, I just had a completely random thought that I thought I’d share now. Why? Because it is illogical, of course.
Captain Kirk: What is that big ring? It’s made of some unknown material. Our scanners picked it up while we were in orbit.
Dr. Jackson: It’s called a Stargate, and we can use it to create wormholes to travel between distant worlds instantaneously.
Spock: Fascinating.
Tael’c: Indeed.
Spock and Teal’c go so well together, don’t they? *giggles*
So, with that little deviation out of the way, let’s get to the core of this journal entry. I am logical. I know, the way I started this entry was anything but logical, but it was fun, and hopefully good for a small laugh.
When I say that I’m logical, what am I talking about? I’m certainly no Vulcan, not even half Vulcan. It just means that I tend to think more logically at times. Logic and reasoning are essential, especially when working with computers. It’s also beneficial when trying to piece together things that are difficult to understand. One such example is how I used logic and reasoning to understand how my faith aligns with my identity, as I wrote about in my previous entry.
Are logic and intelligence tied together? I’m not sure how closely they are linked, but there appears to be some correlation between them. In my case, there seems to be some indication of that. No, this is not any attempt at boasting. I’m simply trying to share what I see in myself, not to imply that I’m better than anyone else or to think I’m superior in any way. It’s just more about me, drawn from past experiences, that have shaped me into the woman I am today.
I started reading before I was four years old. My brother, three years younger than me, used to sit with me while I read to him from my children’s books. Friends of my parents found it hard to believe, and when they visited, they would give me things to read, which I would then read. I doubt I read it well, but it was certainly well enough to impress them.
Starting in grade school, my grandfather would give me puzzle books. I loved the mazes and the logic puzzles. I would spend hours going through them, eager for more. Even the games like Mastermind, where you had to guess the pattern, were fun excursions into logic games and puzzles.
In third grade, my best friend taught me how to play chess. Despite my logical mind, my strategic mind wasn’t quite as skilled. I could play the game on a logical level, but when it came to strategy, thinking ahead, and outthinking my opponent, that was a little beyond my ability. There would be no four-dimensional chess matches against Kirk or Spock in my future.
In the video game arena, I was more inclined toward role-playing games, which had little to do with logic. However, I did enjoy strategy games like Civilization or SimCity, even though I was terrible at them.
The real test of my logic and reasoning came when I got my first computer, a Commodore 64, in the early 80s. While I did play games on it, my greater interest was in learning to program. I started learning BASIC programming at that time.
10 PRINT "Hello World!" 20 GOTO 10 RUN
I wanted to learn how to program so I could make computer games one day. Computer games were fun. I liked playing computer games. If I like playing computer games, logically, other kids would also like playing computer games. So, if I could make computer games, I could logically make other kids happy.
The simplistic logic of a child, but still logic. Aside from that, though, learning programming entirely on my own significantly advanced my logical thinking.
Of all the activities in my life, programming was one area that I can trace back to the logic puzzles I enjoyed in the 1970s. It has been a constant companion up until the present time.
From the days of the Commodore 64, Apple IIc, and original Apple Macintosh computers, where I learned BASIC programming, I soon transitioned to an IBM-compatible PC with MS-DOS 3.3, where I began learning how to write batch files. There was even the evolution to QBasic (QuickBASIC light) at that time. In community college, I took a class for Visual Basic 3, but didn’t follow through with it. It wasn’t due to a lack of wanting to learn, but other challenges that may be shared at another time, but are irrelevant for now.
In the 90s, the Internet was really starting to take off. I quickly hopped on the web and started learning HTML and JavaScript. My experience helped me secure a job with a friend, where I was responsible for maintaining his computer network and designing websites for him. He even sent me to extension classes to learn how to design web pages using ASP, which, in turn, also allowed me to learn Visual Basic 6.0. From there, additional extension classes allowed me to transition to ASP.NET version 1 using VB.NET.
The doors to programming continued to open for me. Most of those doors, though, I had to open myself. When the .NET Framework was at version 3.3, I made the switch from VB.NET to C#. I did attend an extension class for it, but most of what I was learning in that class I was already learning on my own. I would work on my own projects or tasks to help me perform my job more efficiently. While I didn’t become a game designer as I had thought when I was a child, I was writing and excelling in programming through my own determination.
At one point, I was told by a senior developer at the company I worked for that I would never become a developer. I didn’t have the necessary skills. Hearing that hurt deeply, because I knew I could do the job; I had already been writing programs with the same company.
Today, I’m a senior developer, technical lead, and solution architect with Microsoft certifications. My role is in high demand and continues to challenge me. I arrived here without a formal education, relying solely on determination, self-motivation, and a generous dose of logic. This is also one of many areas I mentioned in my previous entry, where I saw clear indications of God working in me and through me to bring me to where I am today.
So, let’s add yet another layer to my identity. I am logical. I am a programmer.
I am Jessica.