I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve joined the Recurse Center for the Winter 2 batch, where I’ll be immersed in a 12-week community-focused retreat dedicated to programming and self-improvement. In their words, it’s a “retreat where curious programmers recharge and grow.”

I’m fortunate to be in a stable financial position, allowing me to step outside my comfort zone and explore something new. While my career has been built on predictability and meeting expectations, I believe there’s value in venturing outside your comfort zone, especially when it aligns with your true self. My hope is to discover new passions and delve into them more deeply than I have lately. This experience brings back memories of my college days when I lived on a “special interest” dormitory floor for computers, called Computer Science House, that had a great community and environment for learning. Recurse Center reminds me of that fondly.

Day One

The Recurse Center principles prioritize self-direction and working towards personal goals. So, what are my goals?

Even drafting this blog post contributes to my objectives. Over the last few years, I’ve felt a creative block as my sharing has been confined to internal work discussions. In an introduction meeting, I heard the phrase, “the community is a resource to contribute to and draw from.” This resonates with me, and I’m eager to share my experiences on my blog and contribute to the larger community.

My broad goals include:

• Blogging more frequently
• Contributing to open-source projects that I use
• Expanding my knowledge of low-level languages like Go and Rust

Striking the right balance between challenge and focus is a work in progress, but every day is progress. I’m excited about what I plan to accomplishment during my time at the Recurse Center and look forward to the upcoming weeks.