Man, thinking back to 2017, it really felt like the universe was nudging me hard. I’d been in my old gig for a good few years by then, just clocking in, doing the work, collecting the paycheck. It was fine, you know? Stable. Paid the bills. But deep down, there was this dull ache, like something was missing. I’d wake up most mornings feeling… well, just okay. No real spark, no real fire in the belly. I mean, who wants to live just okay?
The Routine Before the Shake-Up
I remember those days clearly. Every day started the same. Alarm blares, hit snooze a couple of times, drag myself out of bed. Shower, coffee, commute. Sit at the desk, stare at the screen. Tons of meetings, answering emails, pushing through projects that felt more like busywork than meaningful contribution. My evenings were mostly for zoning out, trying to forget about the day, recharge enough to do it all again. Weekends were a desperate attempt to escape the grind, but even then, that feeling of being stuck, it just lingered in the background. I guess I was just too comfortable, too afraid to rock the boat, even if the boat was going nowhere exciting.
That Little Nudge in 2017
Then 2017 rolled around. It wasn’t one big thing, more like a bunch of little things piling up. I saw some old friends really light up talking about their passion projects. A few nights, I couldn’t sleep, just staring at the ceiling, thinking about where I was headed. It hit me hard. I was going to be doing the exact same thing, five, ten, twenty years down the line if I didn’t shake things up. The thought just terrified me. It wasn’t about the money anymore; it was about waking up energized, feeling like I was actually building something of my own. I started digging around online, mostly just looking at what other folks were doing, what paths they took. My brain just kept churning, wondering if I could pivot, if I could learn something totally new. That was when I started to truly feel like big changes were on the horizon.
Taking Those First Awkward Steps
I didn’t just quit my job cold turkey, no way. That’s not my style. I started small. I picked up an old laptop I had lying around, dusted it off. I remembered always being fascinated by some of the things my techy friends would talk about, so I decided to try my hand at some basic coding. I’d never really coded before, not seriously anyway. So, after my full day at work, I’d come home, grab a quick dinner, and then crack open some free online tutorials. It was brutal at first. My brain felt like mush after a full day, and then trying to wrap my head around loops and variables? Forget about it. But I pushed through.
- I started with a simple language, just copy-pasting code, trying to understand what each line did.
- Then I moved to trying to build tiny, basic things, like a calculator or a simple text game.
- I spent hours on forums, reading what other beginners were asking, trying to solve their problems in my head.
- I bought a couple of cheap online courses when I felt I hit a wall with the free stuff.
Slowly, ever so slowly, things started to click. There were so many late nights. My partner probably thought I was crazy, hunched over that old laptop until 2 AM. But for the first time in a long time, I was actually excited about something. I was building, I was learning, and it felt like I was actually moving forward, not just treading water.
The Big Decision: Leaping Off the Cliff
This went on for about a year and a half. I was still at my old job, still doing the daily grind, but now I had this secret life, this passion project brewing in the background. I was getting better at coding, starting to see how I could actually build real things, not just toy examples. The big moment came in late 2018, early 2019. I had saved up a decent chunk of money, enough to cushion a few months if things went south. I decided to make the leap. I remember writing my resignation letter, my hands shaking. It was terrifying. But also, incredibly exhilarating. I was finally cutting the cord. I was finally saying goodbye to “just okay.”
I took a few weeks off after leaving, just to clear my head, decompress from years of routine. Then I plunged headfirst into it. I started building a small application I’d been dreaming about. Something simple, something that solved a minor problem I’d had myself. No clients, no bosses, just me, my code, and a mountain of self-doubt and excitement.
The Grind and the Payoff
The first few months were a whirlwind. It was harder than I imagined, but also so much more rewarding. There were days I wanted to give up, days I felt like an absolute idiot for thinking I could do this. There were bugs that took days to track down, features that seemed impossible to implement. But every time I fixed a bug, every time a new feature finally worked, it was this massive rush of satisfaction. I kept a journal, writing down what I learned each day, what problems I solved, what new ideas I had. It was my way of tracking progress, reminding myself how far I’d come.
That little application eventually found a small audience. Not huge, but enough to give me confidence. It led to some freelance gigs, which then led to bigger projects. It wasn’t a straight line, not at all. Lots of detours, lots of learning by doing, making mistakes, and then figuring out how to fix them. But looking back at 2017, that year was truly the catalyst. It was the year I stopped just existing and started really living, started taking control of my own path. I’m still building things today, still learning, still feeling that excitement I found all those years ago. It’s hard work, but it’s my work, and that makes all the difference.
