I once had an Excedrin get stuck in my throat sideways. That was a pretty uncomfortable several hours of my life.
That life is truly a neverending struggle. Sure, you get to enjoy some of that struggle, and you can take a break every now and then. Nevertheless, the only time you're truly free from it is when you're dead.
No, I don't plan to end it immaturely. Please don't put me on suicide watch. I still have my people to take care of. 😅
It's easy to do when we're all surrounded constantly by the paradox of money meaning nothing at all, but also the only material thing that dictates the action and activity of everything past and future
Biggest Pill I've had to swallow is that no matter much I love programming and will continue my computer hobbies for life. I will never make a profession out of it. I'm slowly coping with the fact that all my work will ultimately influence very nearly nothing at all...
I love programming and will continue my computer hobbies for life. I will never make a profession out of it
Why do you say that? Is it by choice or do you not see how you could make it a career?
I’m slowly coping with the fact that all my work will ultimately influence very nearly nothing at all…
What kind of impact were you hoping for? I mean lots of jobs have little "influence" - I would actually say almost all jobs. But that doesn't mean we are not all part of collective progress.
Could certainly be argued as a choice ultimately. I didn't quite finish my BS in CS, I'm entering my 30s with a wife that depends on me not leaving my decent and steady warehouse mgmt job atm. I've tried a couple of times--last time I was building a great portfolio maintaining a hobbyist arch distro, but I just never got past the interview stages. My network is too small, and the job market seems to be a dumpster fire with no upturn in sight.
I know these are excuses and ultimately it is a choice that I shouldn't give up on my dreams the way I am, but I wanted to answer your question as honestly as possible for some reason. As far as impact, it's basically been a lifelong dream of mine to just make software that helps improve the quality of life of as many sentient beings as I possibly can. I know it's immature and overly idealist, but I can't shake it
Open source projects and/or contributions can be a good way in.
- Work that is publicly visible to anyone, proving what you can do
- Building a network with the people you interact with
- Learning from open source code & the people who are parts of projects
I didn't know anything about coding when I decided to fix a small bug in my KDE system that was bugging me.. I poked around, asked some questions, figured it out bit by bit.. which led to contributing to KDE more, and now I am a paid KDE developer. I now literally get paid to do something I am passionate about, working on a project that I feel makes a very real impact on the world.
I highly recommend open source to help break into the field. Anyone willing to learn and put some effort in can do it, no previous experience needed. :)
I don't think it's immature - I wish more people had that kind of motivation.
But you say you're entering your 30s. I'd just like to remind you how long time you actually still have. I studied computer science myself and I had multiple friends at the university in their 40s. People do switch up their careers if they want it enough. It is possible.
These are the comments that do me in. Time to repolish the resume and my most practical projects. I can't believe I'm getting serious about this again, but I do believe in my drive, determination, and earnest passion to be the change I want to see in the software world. I know it's pointless, and I will almost certainly fail quite miserably, but I also know I have to go down swinging or my soul will rot from the regrets. I just have to fail better--I have to do it despite the pointlessness.
On the other hand I have found a lot of people who turn the hobby they love into a business and it ruins the joy they found in their hobby.
I was causing most of my own problems by having too many expectations that weren’t actually necessary
You can do everything right that people taught you. But you only start living when you make mistakes, fuck up, and find the places where you belong, and a picture perfect life doesn't bring you happiness; it's rather shallow and lonely.
That paired with the realization that my mental disabilities will make me lonely for the rest of my life and there's only so much I can do about it without having breakdowns.
"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness, that is life."
- Jean-Luc Picard
My ADD is far worse than I thought and I should have noticed that decades ago.
Since no one on here will ever know me…
It’s accepting that I have autism and that having autism is ok. My mom used “autistic” as an insult against me, the first time I remember was from age 5 as an attempt to control behavior she saw as undesirable. Running circles outside until I wore the grass out and flapping my hands about was something I needed to feel ashamed about according to her. And so I hid that and everything else she criticized so hard that I couldn’t accept that the reason I struggled so hard with a lot of things in my life wasn’t because I was just some innate failure but because I had an unaddressed condition that was she not only refused to help with but actively made worse.
To this day I still cannot do things like make eye contact, or tolerate being touched. But I’ve learned to not only accept myself for who I am, but accept that little boy who never understood why his own mother never seemed to be able to love him.
I have to force myself to make eye contact when talking. I usually look away when talking, it helps me think. Some people think you aren't being sincere but oh well.
Intelligence and depression go hand-in-hand. Thank God for drugs.
My brother is so smart he can rationalize his way out of seeking help for his chronic depression. I once told him about a FREE depression meds trial and he said "I don't want to be artificially happy." I responded "So you'd rather be naturally miserable?"
The human race is a constant disappointment
That no matter how often people said it as a kid, I'm not capable of anything I put my mind to. I'm not smart, I'm very very mediocre at best, and my interests don't align with my capabilities so my only options for work are things I don't generally want to do.
I only really had 2 goals in life, a third developed later, and I've failed at all if them. I wanted to be in a loving relationship (going on 40 and have been single for the last decade), to not be the person who hates going to their job every day, and eventually I started wanting to own a home because I found that I need space for the hobbies I enjoyed. It's a Sinatra song right, 0 out of 3 ain't bad? Something like that... Lol
I grew being told I was smart. And to be fair, I am. I always grasped things quick and got through school without much effort.
But what it really ended up being was undiagnosed ADHD.
But when I had to really focus and stick with something for an extended period of time I always struggled. Especially when I lost the structure of being forced to go to school every day.
Im 35 this year and I never expected to be able to hold down a relationship, I had flings but nothing stuck. It wasn't until other things in life going that I rekindled a missed connection from years past. It was only 2 years ago and now she and her daughter live with me.
As for hobbies, I really wish there was a better way to do it than owning all my own stuff. Communal woodshops and auto shops that were more easily accessible. Then hacker spaces for the more niche things. But I know that's a resource that's more accessible around cities.
Anxiety and taking care of others before I take care of myself.
That I didn't know who I was. My lack of self awareness hampered my growth trajectory, my maturity, and relationships. My first failed marriage was a pinnacle of this issue. Though, fast forward 5 years, I'm a vastly different person, know who I am and what I want and where I want to end up. I feel guilty for my ex wife and the impact I had on them. I hope they're happier where ever they may be.
I cannot sing.
So what? Sing all you want. Take a big fart in every kareoke bar you visit. Who cares?
I only exist to care for the people I love, and without them I have nothing else to organize my life around.
Codependency is a bitch. But it’s never too late to start differentiating yourself.
This one burns me to the core, and echoes my life. It scares me to know, that without that, I am truly alone
For me it was the discovery that my parents were shitty people on the narcissism spectrum. I had no clue, because when you grow up in a toxic environment, it's your "normal" and all you know.
That not only am I not a good person, it's mostly impossible for a person to be truly good. Even knowing what good is, in its entirety, is nigh impossible. The best that can be done isn't necessarily within my energy and/or skill.
There are wrongs that cannot meaningfully be righted.
Doing a little good some of the time is the most I can ever aspire to.
None of my hobbies will last as long as I want and thats okay
ADHD, my hobby is collecting hobbies.
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