This is my last blog post...

This is my last blog post as a student in the Front-End Engineering course at The Iron Yard. (I will publish more blog posts in the future, but I won't be a student when I write those ;) I actually started writing this post a few days back, but never hit the publish button...

The past 12 weeks have been a whirl-wind of activity, and have changed my life in a way that I can't yet fully articulate. I can feel the change however, a change in the way I think, in my confidence level, and of course in my ability to write code. (Which is something that I could not do prior to attending TIY)

I have made some friendships here that will last for years to come. I have learned how to keep moving forward - even when I thought I couldn't. I have learned how to deal with stress, constant stress and pressure that seemed to keep building week after week. I could write an entire blog post about stress, lol I am used to dealing with stress, but it's usually a short duration. Usually my stress is work related and lasts as long as the stressful emergency call I am on lasts (a hour or two) then it is over. This was the first time I have had to battle stress for week upon week upon week.

I am slightly nerveous and very excited about what lies ahead in my life.

This is how it all started

This part of my journey is coming to a close. I just peeked at my email, to find the actual date I submitted my application to attend the iron yard...

April 10th 2014 - the date I clicked send.

My journey actually started back in January/Febuary of this year. That is when I started learning about and researching code schools. I'll never forget the afternoon when I was on Youtube watching a video where Eric Doods (one the partners of The Iron Yard) was being interviewed about TIY. I decided to give TIY a call after watching that video, and Eric actually answered the phone and we chatted for a few minutes. I continued to do my research and all roads seemed to keep pointing me to the TIY. It was everything I wanted in a code school, it seemed too good to be true.

Prior to attending TIY MANY people tried to talk me out of coming. They could not understand how I could walk away from my career, I had just had my first child a few weeks prior (a beautiful baby girl!). Some friends and family truly thought I was losing my mind. I knew in my heart and spirit this was the direction I needed to go in to take my life in the direction it needed to move in.

Thankfully I also had people in my life who supported me in my descion, (even if they didn't fully understand it) which was a blessing. All the while, the Debbie Doubters were watching from the sidelines waiting for me to crash and burn, lol

Now that I am standing before the finish line, I know without a shadow of a doubt I made the best choice. Attending TIY was the right move for me at this point in my life. I encourage you to follow your heart, and go after your dreams. Make a plan and start working towards it. It will pay off in the end.

Until next time,

Jay Wilson Jr.