Who Am I?

Hello! My name is Mahmoud and you are witnessing my first attempt at starting a "Tech" blog. Not the strongest writer so please excuse any grammatical mistakes 😂. I am a 23-year-old first-generation Egyptian-American with two beautiful parents and three younger siblings. Here are some significant milestones I've accomplished in my career up until this point:

Milestones:

• First in my family to graduate college 🤓

• Bachelor's in Software Engineering, and Minors in Physics and Computer Science 👨🏾‍🎓

• Master's in Software Engineering with a focus in AI/ML 👨🏾‍🏫

• 3x All-Conference College Football Player 🏈, 2x Big South Conference Champion 🏆

• Currently working full-time as a Junior Developer 👨🏾‍💻

Why am I here?

Now that I got the bragging out the way, here comes the real side of me. Despite my educational background in software development, I still struggle with the underlying feeling of not being good enough as a software developer. Although I remember the general basics of computer science and software design, by no means, would I be able to design and code a project end-to-end. Nor could I reverse a linked list or implement a bubble sort without referencing some help online. With the countless tutorial videos I've watched on full-stack web apps, I even found a nice corner in "Tutorial Hell" to stay in.

Many of you might say that these feelings relate to imposter syndrome. However, I personally think that these feelings or thoughts are due to my inefficiency. Major gaps in my software learning have made me feel embarrassed as I have completed multiple degrees in the subject. However, I realize that during those years I have been in a learning environment where I was monitored, corrected, and educated. Switching from a classroom to being employed is a much different feeling and reality. Similar to the expertise of a medical student to a doctor.

Don’t get me wrong, this post is not about me complaining and feeling sorry for myself. I know how extremely fortunate I am to have made it this far in my career. But it is time that I hold myself accountable, and begin working towards the lifelong learning and improvement that comes with software engineering and development. So this blog series is my way of expressing my fears, all while working towards eliminating them.

Goals

It's my goal to become a full-stack web developer. I understand that the road ahead for such a title is a long and challenging one. But if I made it through college studying SE and playing Football, I surely can make it to my goal of being a confident & proficient Full-Stack Developer.

Through blogging, I hope to get myself out there and meet awesome developers in the Hashnode community. In addition, I hope to receive advice on my learning, as well as my blogging from said developers. I also hope to impact the audience of software developers out there that share these same feelings of self-doubt that I have. Just know that you're not alone!

Finally, I would like to thank Victoria Lo for inspiring me to get myself out there and start blogging my journey. As she has said in her article on "Why Every Developer Should Start Blogging," to begin to write for yourself is an extremely remarkable process that will lead to greater communication. Blogging is how I will hope to grow and diversify my understanding in a more dynamic and meaningful way. Victoria's blogs are extremely informative and are truly motivating for a young developer like myself!