Upon occasion Dan has mentioned the secret sauce of programming school. I've even caught a whiff of it here and there—something about keeping roll back points, and then there’s that bit about avoiding snake oil. I'm intrigued by what it will be when it's finished. But, in the meantime, storyteller that I am, my mind wanders and wants answers before they are ready. Is there really such a thing as secret sauce? Can the secret sauce really help me program computers? Today I have a bit of an insight, and I'd like to offer my own take on the secret sauce here at programming school… ****My car wouldn't start this morning. It's Monday. I know the feeling. I didn't want to start this morning either. But, because I need the money, and because my job is disinclined to pay me if I don't show up for work, my husband pulled out the jumper cables and we brought my '97 Saturn back to life. It didn't complain much. It's a good little car and I intend to keep it running as long as I can. I don't spend a lot of money on cars. Instead, I spend it on gear like my new iPad mini with a retina screen and touch id. What can I say? It came in gold, my new favorite color. As I drove my car to the mechanic, hoping he might find the reason behind my car's discontent, I had to wonder. Week after week I go to work, and I stack my paychecks like cord wood, hoping that somehow they will set me free, even while I fork large chunks of them over to institutions and corporations who promise that if I give them enough money I will never have to worry about anything ever again. And I'm still worried. What is the point of it all? Is this really what I’m meant for? Then I thought about my writing, and about the programming school that my writing led me to. Is this the way out of this labyrinth? This is the thing I have that they don't. I can live in my own head. I can make things with my own mind and my own hands. Will others want what I am learning to make? Will I be able to make my own way in the world between my words and this new skill? My belief in this possibility is still fragile, but as I look around this forum and see the scaffolding of the school rising around me, built upon the foundation laid at Holly’s writing school, my faith grows stronger. Can I jump start my own life? Can Monday morning find me excited to get to work? Can I find a way to my dream of doing work I love, on my own terms, with people that I admire and enjoy working with? That leap of faith might be an ingredient in my own secret sauce. The thread that runs through everything I do here is my hope that there is something better for every single person willing to work hard and put their dreams on the line. It's the foundation of Holly's school, and I love that we've carried that torch to this new arena. I need to believe that it can happen for me too. Did you know you can get your new iPad engraved if you order from Apple?! Oscar Wilde said it better than I can, so this is what I put on mine:
