The journey began many years ago. I must have been around five years old when I first started learning DOS commands, such as cd to navigate between folders. Soon after, I grasped the dir command to display working directories. At some point, I encountered the del command, which got me into trouble when I started elementary school. I remember typing del *.*, which, as some of you may know, is similar to formatting a hard drive. Of course, I couldn't resist adding games from the collection of floppy disks I brought to school with me.
Throughout my youth, I was consistently exposed to technology, thanks to my father's fascination with it. At some point, he even introduced my brothers and I to the world of web development by providing each of us with our very own sub-domain on his server. We had already expressed a great deal of interest, frequently creating custom web pages on old-school web page generators like 'AngelFire', 'Lycos', and 'GeoCities'. We always opted to write our own HTML into the program.
Soon after, I learned how to pull and push files to FTP servers using Microsoft FrontPage, which was an incredible WYSIWYG tool for its time. I also gained additional experience using Macromedia products, which are now Adobe products. I learned how to create some very beautiful websites using Macromedia Fireworks and even began to dabble with Macromedia Flash to create animations.
In high school, a group of friends and I launched a small business called Skate Heaven. Its biggest feature was an e-commerce website that I developed using HTML, CSS, MySQL, and PHP to allow users to view the products we created. We purchased blank skateboards in bulk, applied custom graphics to them, and sold them. Additionally, we hosted skate competitions and created videos.
In my senior year, I developed a personalized web-based photo gallery for a friend embarking on his first overseas trip. He desired a domain where friends and family could track his adventures. The interface was straightforward, enabling users to browse through photos stored in a designated folder. This occurred in an era predating Facebook's dominance, while MySpace was flourishing. Although MySpace existed, it couldn't fulfill his requirements like Facebook eventually did. This happened in 2007, providing perspective on the timeline.
Following high school graduation, I transitioned away from the realm of technology. I chose to travel as much as I could instead of pursuing this field as I might have. I am certainly grateful to have seen parts of the world and to have lived in picturesque places like Lake Tahoe, for example. However, this certainly set me back from a career standpoint.
After journeying across the country, I eventually returned to my roots. Enrolling in school, I pursued a degree in Adventure Sports Management, aligning with my job experiences. During summers, I served as a seasonal department head, while winters saw me exploring new ski resorts. Later, I landed a managerial role in a four-seasons retail outfit, though it fizzled out during summers. Utilizing my free time, I assisted in updating the company's website and proposed to become the eCommerce Manager.
Over several years, I honed my skills as a professional web developer, mastering Magento, optimizing CSS, and crafting SQL scripts for reports. I also automated server tasks with cron jobs. When the parent company discontinued their eCommerce platform, I facilitated the migration to BigCommerce, earning certification as a partner. Unfortunately, despite my contributions, the company could not agree to allowing me to work remotely and often took advantage of my commitment to the job after hours.
Since then, I have been actively honing my development skills by following tutorials and building projects. It is my intention to share my joy of writing code with the world. I plan to post weekly updates from here on out, keeping you informed about my journey. If you are interested in keeping up, please follow, and I hope you enjoy the content! :)