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The journey to find my passion in life has pretty interesting, with a few bumps along the way. I have two beautiful children, Alexander(12) and Cameron(17) who have been my source of strength and motivation in almost everything I do. Their love and compassion has saved me in many ways. Somehow, I have become a role model for both of them. They both do exceptionally well in school and desire to be programmers. I use to be a radiographer, working mostly in the operating and emergency rooms. I spent four years in school training to be a radiographer., while waitressing at night club to help pay tuition. I loved every aspect of school, the friends I made, studying the various sciences, such as radiation physics and biology was fascinating. I even loved waitressing at he nightclub. However, working full time and working at night took its toll. I was young and single so I behaved accordingly, which included drinking excessively.
Once I graduated from college and found my first job as a radiographer, my partying ceased for a while, especially since I was in a relationship and had a brand new baby. At home I was happy. I loved being a new mom. I was even looking forward to start my life as a radiographer. After two years of working as a radiographer I was dreading going to work. I was thinking, was it because I despised my supervisor, the low pay, long hours or what? So I took on an extra job moonlighting at another hospital to make some extra money. Then I realized it was not the pay that was bothering me. I hated the job! Working the extra shifts kept me away from my child. I was slipping into a depression and taking anti-depressants to cope. I was basically on autopiliot. During this time I also had my second child, but my relationship with my boyfriend was on the rocks. One night while working the late shift I was searching for a side job I could do unrelated to general radiography; in hopes it would snap me out of my depression. That's when I found the National Massage Therapy Institute. I was not sure if I wanted to be a massage therapist, but figured it would not hurt to go to an open house. I went to the open house the very next day and I was enrolled in school that same night. I thought afterwards, what did you just do? I felt good about my decision, but it happened so fast. So, needless to say I was a bit anxious about my new journey. I went to school part-time while working as a radiographer. Taking control of my life gave me the confidence to change my life. I quit the job at the hospital and moved to Montgomery County, closer to my new job. I also, embraced yoga and Buddhism and became a vegetarian.
Afer I graduated from massage school, which took about a year. I massaged clients at my house, while working as a radiographer. Then I became so busy I ended up getting a commercial space. Since, work was so busy and I was happier massaging than being a radiographer, I decided to work full-time as a massage therapist. For a while, I was making great money. I even went backpacking across Europe with my new boyfriend for two weeks. After a couple of years, business started to slow down significantly to the point I had to give up my office and share a space with a couple of other therapists. Although my situation was better. Financially, I was at a low point, which caused me to go into a depression and drink more on a regular basis. The local bar soon became my second home. There were always someone there willing to buy me a drink. My children never complained about my drinking to me, but their father did. Which caused fights. Back then no one could tell me anything, plus when I drank I did not think about how much pain I was in emotionally. This went on for a while, until my kids eventually did say something to me. How my drinking affected them. I cried and made a promise to them I would stop and get help. The first thing I did was ask for it. Which for me was very hard. My best friend has been going to Alcoholics Anonymous for over 30 years and told me previously that I should get some help.
Since that first meeting two years ago I have not had a drink no matter what bumps enter my life. My life has completely changed for the better. My children and I are much happier. We travel a lot more as a family. Also, they excel more in school. My sons who use to worry about me all the time, now looks at me with pride and respect. Now that I had a clear mind, I am able to make better business decisions and business is good again.
Since my sobriety I feel like I had a rebirth, and I was given a second chance to do something worth while. I was working on my website one day for my massage business and I was thinking it would be fun to create websites for other companies. I did some research and was overwhelmed by all the tutorials online some free some not. I was thinking maybe I could go back to school and get a degree in software development so I enrolled in a local public college and it was disappointing to say the least. It was online and no support was provided. They basically posted work and directed us to a few websites for resources. I decided it was not worth what I was paying. I was thinking maybe programming was not going to happen and I should consider something else, such as vascular ultrasound. Then I heard on LinkedIn about the Flatiron School. One of the women online said she had no previous experience as a programmer, no degree, but has been working ever since she graduated from the Flatiron School. So I did some research on Flatiron and decided to do the online bootcamp prep. Which brings me to where I am today. One thing I love about coding is although its challenging, it feels like meditation, which requires 100% focus. I love the thought and feeling of creating something special I think others will enjoy or benefit from. I also, inspired my sons to be programmers. My sons are my Guiding Light and source of motivation.