I think it’s unusual to find a software developer that identifies themself as a creative more than an engineer. I’m not a talented painter or poet, but code is my medium. I’m not just talking about UX, but literally the way the code is. To me, the way software works has soul and the joy of discovering and building this soul is what drives me. It’s why I am driven to share it. It’s why I want to introduce everyone to it.
I don’t do little pieces, I do the big stuff. I’m driven by complex problems that require robust solutions. I love to capture the nuance. I love to see the long view and the scale of a problem over time. I love my work in software to teach rather than confuse the next person who sees it.
You can look through my github and what you’ll find in my public repositories are stacks of old canvases, mostly half-finished or barely started. It’s like walking into an artist’s studio and asking, “Oh, what is this?” only to be told that it’s some old idea that never went anywhere or that it was a test for a huge mural they did for some bigwig in Tennessee. All the real work is in galleries or on the walls of McMansions.
I love sharing the work with smart people, the big fish in my pond. And I love to share what I know with the little fish just entering it for the first time. I love that there are so many ways of looking at a problem and that maturity is learning that there isn’t always just one right answer.
I’m on a journey right now: on walk-about. I’m looking for my next big thing, a new, bigger pond to swim in that will challenge and stretch me and where I can contribute my experience, too; where I can become the big fish. And I’m not so big for my britches that I’m adverse to another small pond, or another small role. If there is such a thing: I don’t think there are small roles, just small developers. What about you? Where are you going? Is it an adventure? Can I come?