My name is Anahita! Friends and family call me Ana! For a long time, I believed coding wasn't for me. Despite being fairly good at math in high school, I was scared of coding and thought I just wasn't built for it...
But, I grew tired of my fear and wanted to prove myself wrong. It didn't happen overnight. I took one step after another, and reminded myself along the way, to at least try before deciding I couldn't do it.
And, I did it! I was admitted to UC Irvine's CS Master's program. It was a dream coming true.
This was Ana's dream when she immigrated to the US 3 years earlier, with an undergraduate degree in Architecture and a heart full of hopes and dreams.
Even half-way through my Master's, I still had doubts ... But every time I completed an assignment or a group project, I gained a bit more confidence.
All the good things were on the other side of fear, other side of doubt. Working with classmates who had an undergraduate CS background, I realized I wasn't far behind.
I even realized that I was more open to new challenges, embracing the unknown, new languages, and technologies, you name it! Maybe it was because everthing was new to me?
Or, perhaps because I approached it with a learning mindset? Whatever it was, I decided to keep this mindset, as it helped me grow and embrace new challenges.
Fast forward, I got my first Software Development job at Expedia Group. Initially, imposter syndrome kicked in, compounded by having the worst
concentration of my lifetime due to the ongoing situtation in my homeland at the time (that's another story!). The situation got out of control for a while in the beginning ...
But, I didn't go through all that for nothing, right? I reminded myself how badly I wanted this, and got back up! Keeping a can-do attitude,
I took on challenging tasks, and I'd say the most valuable lesson I learned during my time there, was to ask for help when absolutely stuck, but to believe
in my abilities at the same time. I was able to unblock myself for the most part, by putting in the time and effort,
and believing that I was there for a reason, and I could do it... And, trust me, that belief part, can work wonders!