Based on the video Shareef’s Fireside Chat), I can say that I totally see where he’s coming from. I had no idea what I was going to do after I graduated form college, and I knew I didn’t want to go into a field dealing with what I majored or minored in. I don’t reall yhave a passion, but when I picked up Codecademy’s HTML/CSS tutorial, I thought it was fun, and really that’s all it took. When I found Dev Bootcamp, it did seem like the whole package. I was looking at it based on the “restaurant” mindset, where you order, you get you services/goods, you pay, you say thanks, and you’re on your way. I knew it would be difficult, but it seemed like the smart thing to do if I was at all interested.
The more I read up on DBC, though, the more my mind started to change. It didn’t change that I wanted to go to DBC and learn all that I could, no, it was that I was thinking about it more as an experience, a chance to learn and grow alongside others who share an interest in something I liked. This new type of thinking was the “kitchen” mentality: we’re all here to work hard, learn as much as we can, lift each other up, brush each other off when we fall. Instead of consumer mode, I was now in creative mode. Of course, it’s not like my mentality has completely changed, but it’s mostly in the kitchen. Shareef makes a good point that because of the society and time we live in, we are conditioned to step into the restaurant. It’s a hard habit to break, but I think I’m on my way. While getting a job is my ultimate goal, I realize now that DBC isn’t going to get me a job. I am going to get myself a job. From what I gather, this won’t get me that high-paying job right away (no previous experience here), but it will set me up to be a better person, be a better me, and learn more about myself than I probably want to know. Learning new concepts will be easier when I get the gist of the basics as well as when I understand my own learning process.
I’m really looking forward to my journey (it’s already started!). On one hand, I am ready to go meet new people and share ideas–I like working in a group–yet, at the same time, I’m kind of terrified. This is a whole new experience, form living in NYC (I’ve only been there once), to living entirely alone (no parents, no college life, I mean), to learning someone completely foreign, to working in an environment where we aren’t strapped down by grades and GPA expectations. I can already tell it’s going to be very different from the years of schooling I’ve already have, and while I’m nervous and anxious, I’m also excited!