It’s all me, me, me…

My journey so far…

Well where do I start? I’ve followed a bit of a winding path – from a relatively young age I wanted to be a violinist. Even back then I struggled with imposter syndrome (spoiler alert – this is going to be a heavily recurring theme) so, after around ten years of very hard work, when I got to the point of actually applying to one of the Royal Schools of Music I chickened out, telling myself that I didn’t want to lose my love of playing through having to do it day in, day out. Which is a very valid reason, I know a few people this did happen to, and it did play on my mind. But it wasn’t 100% true. Incidentally – I do still play and still love it. Small wins.

So – I did an Archaeology degree. I love history. And where better to study it than York? I adored it. But a career in archaeology tends towards academia and, after three weeks of fieldwork: three weeks of sitting in a muddy Neolithic midden in the rain in Orkney – a stunningly beautiful part of the world with very welcoming hosts but somewhat lacking in fedoras, bullwhips and the lost Ark of the Covenant – I realised that the Indiana Jones movies exercise more than a little poetic licence. I hadn’t really been that naive but I decided a lifetime of research just wasn’t for me.

I didn’t really know what to do so applied for an admin post in a local NHS trust as a stop-gap and ended up staying there – in the same role – for 13 years. I don’t have much to say about it, which tells you all you need to know – the same thing, day after day. After nine years there I had a sudden burst of confidence. To this day I do not know where that came from. I decided I didn’t want to spend the next 40 years in a role I had been doing so long that it really didn’t challenge me any more.

I decided to do a Computing degree. I found a part-time evening course at Teesside University which allowed me to keep working (because, you know, mortgage payments and tuition fees). Five years, a graduation (first class honours thankyouverymuch), a data-reporting role, more imposter syndrome setbacks and a global pandemic later, I had another yet-to-be-explained bout of confidence and decided it was time to get myself in gear. I started applying for dev roles and started my software development career.

And the rest is archaeology (or history, if you must be pedantic).

Gotta have that work-life balance…

So what do I do for fun?

The nerd in me loves to code so I can spend hours just tinkering around with mini-projects or running through tutorials. Yes I know it’s technically the same as work but I enjoy it and it gives me something to focus on. Something else that helps me detach from anything that’s on my mind is playing my violin or piano, or just losing myself in a good book. I listen to a lot of podcasts and audiobooks and like to grab a random selection of books to read from the local library.

But I’m not shut inside on my own all the time! My partner and I love to go out for walks in the countryside or along the seafront at Seaton Carew or Redcar. We go hiking in all weathers but generally the colder months (why do I do that to myself?). In the summer we love to get out and explore on my partner’s motorbike.