Demo Day & A Battle Cry to Cohort 21

This is Cohort 21, of which I am a member, on the first day of class. Our paper is all crisp and our pencils are sharpened. Our minds are open in anticipation and we are all scared as hell (or at least I was)! We came in as individuals and finished up as family.

If I had to sum up Demo Day in one word, I couldn’t! Not even in one sentence, so I won’t attempt to do that. Instead, I want to share with you the feeling of the day. I woke up shaking. At first, I thought it was anxiety, but I was able later to identify the feeling as excitement mixed with such immense emotion that I had actually done something that even I was unsure I could do.

If you have been following my blog, you know I have times of immense fear, and then times when I think I know what I should know, and I can be very satisfied with that. What I am feeling now is neither. It is pride in myself and such joy that even I don’t know what to do with it.

The night before my kids helped me set up my spot, which included a wardrobe and a space outfitted with a touch screen display for optimal interaction and three apps that I had worked on and were ready for production and demoing. I showed my “Magical Wardrobe” app, “ORBiS” and, “Facts About Dr. T”, which was an Alexa Skill that I built over Christmas break.

Everyone was so excited and nervous. Not only for the day, but also for what is to come. Because, if we are being totally honest, that is what has us up at one o’clock in the morning. The not knowing what is to come from all of our hard work. I mean we all did the best we could and many of us became really good developers, but we are still very green and will need someone to see the potential in us.

For most of us, this isn’t our first rodeo, so we aren’t youthful like we once were and the fear of starting too late or being ill-prepared for the actual jobs we are applying is killing that feeling of accomplishment many of us really want to hold on to.

If I had something to say to us, and to those who are following after Cohort 21 it would be the same advice I give my kids: You are worthy of every encounter you have. You can make your life what you want it to be and no one has the power to tell you your worth or value. Even you if it is not the truth.

Until your last breath, you have time. Time to be kind to yourself and others. Time to embody and embrace who you were created to be. And, time to look in the mirror and smile at yourself for the badass you have become! 

If only we would take the time to notice ourselves and our greatness we would see how far we have come is nothing compared to how far we will go. Especially if our minds are in control. 

When I got home after the long day, I went to my infamous She-Shed, closed the door, and allowed myself a good victorious cry. For all the times the bathroom stalls at NSS kept my secrets and caught my tears and those times I wanted to quit, but my mentors told me I could do it.

I have to remember that there are others who are like I once was and I cannot let them believe that what they are doing is in vain! No! I have to pick up my code and sling it like only I can and acknowledge the greatness that flows from my finger tips. Even if it only solved a little piece of a problem of the day.

It is the setbacks that makes us strong and the conflicts with our peers that build relationships that will stand the test of time. It is how we treated others and ourselves that will measure how we are loved and admired. But more importantly, how we value and treat ourselves is how we give others permission to treat us too.

Cohort 21, we did it! Grit and blood, sweat and tears, we did it. And we are so much better because of it!

More images from the day and a couple videos in case you weren’t able to attend. It was a great day!

Also, I was able to participate in a panel discussion and get interviewed for the NSS podcast, check those items out too!

Dr. T

Hello! I am Dr. T, developer and educator, who helps learners embrace their missions by activating their developer superhero within! You are the hero who you have been waiting for.