Man, 2020 was a wild ride, wasn’t it? Everybody remembers it for, well, you know. But for me, looking back, it actually marked a pretty big shift in my own work life. I remember feeling a bit adrift early that year, like many folks. My old gig, it was okay, but it felt like I was just punching a clock. I was putting in the hours, doing the work, but there wasn’t that spark, you know? It wasn’t really pulling me forward. I just kept thinking, “There’s gotta be something more.”
The Push I Didn’t Expect
Then, suddenly, everything changed. The whole world went sideways, and my old company started getting really antsy. Projects got put on hold, and I saw the writing on the wall. Folks were getting let go, and honestly, I kinda felt it coming my way too. Instead of just sitting there and waiting for the axe, I told myself, “Alright, this is it. This is your chance to actually do something different.” I made a decision right then and there. No more just floating along. I needed to steer my own boat, even if it felt like the ocean was getting rougher by the minute.
Diving Into the Deep End
So, what did I do? First thing, I sat myself down and really thought about what I actually liked doing, not just what paid the bills. I always messed around with building little things online, tinkering with code, making simple tools. It was a hobby, a side thing. But I loved it. So, I decided I was going to try and make that my main thing. I pulled out all my old books, dusted off my notes from years ago. I started watching every free tutorial I could find. I read articles late into the night. My screen time went through the roof, trust me.
- I re-learned some basic coding stuff, just to get back in the swing.
- I picked up a new framework, one I’d always thought about but never had the time for.
- I built a simple website, then another, then another, just practicing.
- I shared my little projects with a few friends, just to get some eyes on them.
It was a grind, for real. There were days I just wanted to throw my laptop across the room. I’d hit a wall, stare at a bug for hours, feel completely stupid. “What are you even doing?” I’d ask myself. “You’re too old for this, just stick to what you know.” But something inside me just wouldn’t let me quit. I kept pushing through, one small problem after another.
Small Wins, Big Shift
Then, a few months in, something started to click. I developed a small tool for tracking expenses, just for myself. I showed it to a buddy who runs a small business, and he actually got excited. He asked if I could tweak it for him. I did. He paid me for it. Not much, but it was the first real money I’d made from something I built myself, from scratch, with my own two hands and brain. That feeling, man, that was something else. It wasn’t just a paycheck; it was validation.
That one small project led to another. My buddy told someone else, who reached out to me. Suddenly, I wasn’t just practicing anymore; I was actually doing real work. I spent my days coding, problem-solving, and talking to people about what they needed. It was still hard, still had plenty of frustrating moments, but it was a completely different kind of hard. It was the good kind, the kind where you feel like you’re actually growing and building something meaningful.
Looking Back at That Year
By the end of 2020, I wasn’t rich, not by a long shot. But I had established myself as a freelance developer. I had a few regular clients, enough to pay the bills and then some. I had transitioned from being an employee waiting for things to happen to a guy who made things happen for himself. I learned so much, not just about coding, but about pushing through fear and uncertainty. I discovered that I actually loved the challenge, the process of starting with an idea and turning it into something real and useful. That year, for all its craziness, actually forced me to finally take the leap and carve out my own path. And that, for me, was a huge, unexpected success.
