I think one of the most exciting things about life is the unpredictable journey it takes you on. Through each phase of life, you gradually begin to find yourself and your purpose. And what you thought was a delay, obstacle, or difficulty becomes a way of developing energy and stamina that sustains you for the journey ahead.

Before I proceed, I want to explain what NYSC means, so that whenever I use it in this article, you will understand what I mean.

• NYSC: It means National Youth Service Corps. It is a one-year compulsory service for my country, Nigeria. In this one-year period, university graduates are deployed to various states in the country to use their qualifications to contribute to the growth of various sectors in the country.

One of the main life mantras I have carried for the major parts of my life is

No matter how difficult something is, if it's doable, then I can do it.

I will tell you why this has been very significant to my journey.

Background Story

Maybe I always knew I would go into tech. I said "maybe," because I have always had this love for computers and how they work. In fact, at some point after my graduation from high school, I worked under someone to learn how to repair computer hardware for 6 months or so. I am not sure now.

Standing here now, I don't think I can still remember much of what I learned from those months. Aside from installing software, 😂🤣. And that one important life lesson also

What you learn without continuous practice, you forget.

During my last year in high school, All I wanted to study at the university was medicine.

Medicine because people had always told me that I would do well as a medical doctor, and I just somehow settled for that in my heart and because I was good in chemistry and biology in high school, so it made sense, or so I thought.

I tried for 2 years to get into medical school, but all to no avail. Now I am happy it didn't work out, but at the time I was really tired and frustrated, and I started to doubt myself if I was as good as I thought I was. It was during this period that I started learning computer hardware repair, as I mentioned earlier, and at that point, I started to develop an interest in computer science.

So I applied to a university to study Computer Science, and at the same time, I was also applying to an aviation college to study Aircraft Engineering. The admission to study aircraft engineering came out first, and I went for it. I didn't pursue computer science any longer. I was also fascinated by the aviation industry, so I said to myself that it wouldn't hurt to try it.

Journey into Tech

That was how I started my journey to becoming an aircraft engineer. During my second year in school studying aircraft engineering, I and six other students were paired and given a project to "Design and construct a gas turbine engine using LED to show its working principle as a teaching aid." This is where the journey into tech started for me. During the project, I was in charge of the construction of the project. Part of the project involved us using Arduino micro-controllers to program the LED used for the construction, to show the various aircraft turbine engine phases from intake to exhaust. You can learn more about the aircraft turbine engine here

C++ was the programming language we used. After the project was completed, I started playing around with microcontrollers and building electrical circuits. I continued like that until my final university project, when I also designed and constructed a magnetic chip detector for aircraft inspection, I designed the wiring diagram and also built the electrical circuits. In the project, I also used Arduino to signal the device whenever it comes into contact with another metal. You can read more about magnetic chip detector here

All of these projects planted the love of programming in me, but I never really built on it until I graduated from university. During the period when I was waiting to be called up for NYSC, I came across the Sololearn App. I installed it on my phone and I started learning web development. At this point, my previous laptop had packed up, so I didn't have a laptop.

Due to Covid19, my NYSC was delayed, so I had to ask my elder brother for money to get a new laptop to enable me to really focus on learning web development while I went for NYSC.

So I started downloading videos online and reading articles, I couldn't afford to buy courses at the time, but thank God for free resources, that was how I started learning Frontend Development, I started from understanding how the web works to learning HTML, to CSS (I spent a lot of time here😂) and then to JavaScript. When I started JavaScript, I was frustrated a lot of times, and for days I felt discouraged. I will often remember my mantra "If it's doable, then I can do it". Other times I get frustrated and abandon it for some days, but I still find myself coming back.

And I continued that way, learning and building projects with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript until I was called for NYSC. I was posted to a different state from the one I was based in, and I was posted to work in an aviation college as I was an aircraft engineering graduate. So I worked as an aircraft technician there for one year. During that period, I worked as an aircraft engineer, carrying out daily checks, inspections, and modifications by day, and as a programmer by night. On some days, I bring my laptop to work so I can code whenever I have free time. During this period also, I did two internships where I was introduced to ReactJS, NextJS, Open Source, Collaboration with other engineers and designers, and so on. And that was how I continued to learn and hone my skills in Frontend engineering until the NYSC period came to an end. That was in December 2021.

After NYSC, I needed to apply for my Aircraft license and seat for the exams

But, I decided to forgo that and take my shot at Tech because I love it and find it fulfilling. It was actually not an easy decision to make, but it was worth it. Maybe someday I will go apply for my aircraft licence. But for now, Tech is all I can think about at this moment.

Conclusion Some days, I beat myself up for not going fully into tech early, but like they say, "Better late than never." If you have read to this point, thank you. I write about web technologies and I am passionate about simplifying programming concepts, especially for newbies. I am also open to Technical Writing, Developer Advocate, and Frontend Development Roles

Finally, everyday life gives you an opportunity to show love to someone and make their life easier. Use it ❤.