Time, time, time

Time is a funny thing, a day can drag out and feel like an eternity, but a year can pass in a blink of an eye.

I’m about 8,395 days old today, that’s roughly 201,480 rotations of the hour hand of your clock. Remember how long it takes for that hour hand to drip by while you’re in yet another boring meeting? I’ve had over 201 thousand of them.

That all equates to 23 years old, which isn’t too bad I suppose.

It’s not often I talk about myself. I have a lot of opinions, but I generally keep me to myself. On this occasion I’m going to give myself a pat on the back.

I’m pretty proud of myself.

I have no qualifications, I have no A-levels, and only a few GCSEs. I am completely self-taught.

One thing that I’ve learnt is that only you know yourself. If somebody says you can’t do something, fuck them. Who are they to tell you what you can and can’t do? Prove them wrong.

I was told that programming is hard, and it’s not something you can learn in your bedroom any more. I was told I’d not be earning more than £14,000 by the time I was 20. I was told there was no chance I could get a job without any formal qualifications. Two jobs down the line, too many languages to list, and more money than sense - I think I proved them all wrong.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to learn how to learn. It’s the one thing they don’t teach you in school. Since I learnt how to learn, I’ve gained so much knowledge.

Don’t concern yourself with the details, learn the techniques, learn the principals. It can be mistaken for arrogance, but I’m so confident in my ability to learn, that I can safely say that I can use any programming language, any operating system, any technology, ever invented and ever to be invented.

I am not scared of change, of new technologies, and I’m not afraid of being left behind. I can adapt, because I can learn.

It’s been a crazy ride so far, I look forward to what the next few years bring.