Answering My Why
As a child, one of the most common questions we ask is “why?”. Why is the sky blue? Why do our feet stay on the ground and we don’t fall off the planet? Why can’t I have a unicorn/pegasus combination as a pet?
If we are lucky, we will have people around wise enough to answer some of our questions, and even luckier if we have access to education so we (hopefully) satisfy more our curiosities. As we get older and move on to different phases of life our questions we ask differ and evolve, and people start to ask us “why?”.
When I decided to enroll in Flatiron school, it was one of those moments when “why” was asked a lot, from both family and friends but also from myself while doing self reflection.
“Why do I want to study Data Science?” “Why do I want to join Flatiron School?” “Why do I believe that I can be successful at this?”
These are the questions I would ask myself and find that my family would inquire about them too. In my first project and blog post, wrote briefly about my history up to the moment I joined Flatiron School. Now that I am at the halfway mark I believe that it is important to do some self reflection and check in with myself to see if my why has changed.
Why do I want to study Data Science at Flatiron School?
In My Data Story — How I Added Personality to My Data I briefly mentioned that my learning of Data Science was a fluke and happened by chance. In previous jobs in vastly different fields I did some sort of data analysis, although without the programming and almost exclusively in excel, but that just goes to show how important Data Scientists are and how their skills can fit into almost any industry.
When I did first learn about Data Science I was browsing educations programs on the Washington State Career Bridge website while desperately searching for a new career path and education to get there. For some reason, I felt shame that this is how I stumbled across Data Science, as if there was a more “honorable” way to do so. When hearing the success stories of Flatiron Alumni, I was only able to focus on the stories of individuals moving from a phase of their life that appeared successful (in my eyes) to studying Data Science at Flatiron and was able to continue their success into a new career. I began romanticizing their journeys and finding their paths to be so inspirational that I couldn’t help but look at mine and be disappointed.
Despite my disappointment in myself, I was intrigued and continued to look into what Data Science is and what someone in this career path does. Albeit naïve, I did not realize that Data Science is exactly what it is, the study and analysis of data. When I learned this and saw all the examples of what Data Scientists can achieve my heart fluttered with so much joy and I was probably as excited as a child going to their first amusement park (pre COVID-19). In my last job I worked alongside auditors that did analysis on pension by reviewing the employee’s hours worked and contribution rates alongside any other conditions of their contracts. I absolutely loved this job as I got to combine my love of numbers and excel analysis with being able to help people get the money they earned for their retirement. Studying Data Science would open even more doors for me to find this perfect combination of playing with numbers and analysis alongside being able to help others, and I honestly didn’t think I would get another opportunity to do such again, or at least not anytime soon. Even just reflecting on that initial discovery and thinking about the near future of being able to use my skills I can’t help but feel that excitement and glee again.
At this point I was pretty set on wanting to study Data Science and I just needed to find the proper way to learn. While Flatiron School was the school listed in the career bridge website, I wanted to shop around to find what school seemed the best based off how long it will take to learn, the investment, and the reviews and what others had to say about it. In a way, I was doing a simple data analysis and doing my first work as a future Data Scientist. While there were some other schools that offered online courses, none seemed close in comparison to Flatiron in any of the metrics I set, and I decided that Flatiron School was the best fit for myself. Between the employment connections through alumni and the school itself, alongside all the support that is received during and after the educational program, I would be silly to not see that this would be the best school for me. It really is no wonder that they have won so many awards!
What I initially failed to see was how much bravery and strength it took to not only go back to school, but to learn something completely new and challenge myself in a way I have never been challenged before. Sometimes people have different journeys to the same destination, but that should never be something to be ashamed of, especially when just the thought of the destination makes me so extremely happy. This lesson is something that will carry on to different parts of my life and also what I would consider to be the first thing I learned from Flatiron School.
Why do I want to study Data Science? For the childlike happiness I feel and the meaning and purpose it adds to my life.
Why do I want to study at Flatiron School? Because this is a school that will not only educate and prepare me for my future career, but will also give me valuable life lessons and provide me with a large community of support.
Why do I believe I can be successful?
The end of 2018 and 2019 was a dark time for me. I am someone that has always thrived when working and having a project, and without that I struggled a lot with self-worth and self-doubt. If I were asked back then if I thought I will find success in my life, I really don’t know if I could confidently say yes.
Upon learning of Flatiron school, even before my classes started, I started on the path of learning much more than Data Science — and learned about myself and what I can achieve if I dare to dream (corny, I know). If my dream is to help people while also working in an ever evolving field with a mathematical and science foundation, then it is possible, with Data Science of course.
I will not lie, this second phase at Flatiron learning about statistics and probability have been a challenge for me and I struggled a little with self-doubt once more. But the phase is now over and the project complete and I survived. I know that my journey to master these topics is far from over, but I am also far from giving up. This is the attitude needed to be able to succeed in school, in work, and in life. This past month I have also dealt with being ill which initially made me feel like I was behind, but in reality these are some very difficult topics to learn and mastery should not be expected after a few weeks of study. Once more I learned that it is ok to cut myself some slack, after all that is much better than wrongfully believing that I am unable to learn these challenging topics or giving up. Afterall, if everything came easily then I may not know how to work hard or have the problem solving skills that I have today. My struggles in this phase was just another lesson learned and has turned my self-doubt and fear into determination and focus. With the fear of being unsuccessful and falling behind gone, I now look forward to learning more on these subjects.
Why do I believe I can be successful? Because I am not afraid of the challenges that are ahead of me, but most importantly, because I know I can be and will be successful.
