Have you ever written your obituary?

About a year ago, I was reading Elle Luna's reflection on "Should vs. Must." In the post, she asks if I had ever written my own “obituary.”

I remembered thinking that I’ve always been the type of person who reflects on my goals, and I was happy with where I was in my career. But she challenged me again: “but have you ever actually written it down?”

That week on my flight back to San Francisco, I took out my computer, opened a Word doc, and started to write down what I would want someone to say about me at the end of my life. I thought it would be a simple, but helpful, exercise. As I started typing, I realized I had only thought about my life “counting up.” I had a good sense of my 5 or 10 year plan, but I struggled with the “looking back” view. What would my “80-year-old self” want to say?

At the end of the five hour cross-country fight, I finally finished my obituary, and I felt conflicted. I was content and excited about my current role at in private equity. I’m in a post-MBA position, working with a talented team with a clear career progression. But as I re-read the “obituary,” I realized that even though this role may suit my life right now, staying on this path would not lead to the story I had written.

That day last year marked the beginning of a journey. I needed to figure out what my life “pivot” was going to look like. I explored multiple career paths, talked with mentors, and dug deep into the big experiences that shaped my life to figure out what this move would look like.

Some things haven't radically changed yet: even right now I'm on a plane, writing up this blog post flying to my portfolio company. Nonetheless, some of the macro-conditions things have changed: I only have a couple short weeks left with my private equity role. I started Dev Bootcamp this week and I'm wrapping up all of our first week challenges.

I believe business and technology are going to become more and more integrated across all industries. If you haven't read Marc Andreessen's 2011 article "Software is Eating the World, it's worth it. I think our kids will laugh when we tell them that we had a separate industry called "tech."

Back in my earlier college years, I built a couple of websites, and mobile didn't really exist yet (... think about that). I've spent the last couple years developing my skills in big data analytics, and I decided I wanted to strengthen my programming toolkit. I could not be more excited about this next adventure.

I researched many coding bootcamps, talked with graduates, and caught up with my friends in the industry. After a long diligence process, I settled on DBC as the place for me. The thing that attracted me the most is the emphasis on emotional intelligence. The emphasis on meditation, yoga -- and most importantly, empathy -- was a defining factor. Those elements are a core aspect of the curriculum and also clearly part of the culture. Once I saw this, it was a no-brainer that DBC is where I wanted to spend time to learn these skills.

I believe that the best coders are deeply creative people. They are makers. They take on uncertainty head on. They are comfortable with messiness. They embrace the experiment. They have grit. I admire those traits and I strive to surround myself with others who have this mindset -- I see all of these traits in Dev Bootcamp.

I can't wait to see what this next chapter holds. Honoring the journey and diving in.