I sometimes think that the best things in life aren’t the ones we’ve known about for years, or the dreams we’ve had since (we were) fanciful children, but the ones that can drop in our laps unexpectedly. That’s what happened to me with programming, and it’s been one of the best things to happen in my life.

This quote was part of a response I wrote to one of my betterlivingthroughpython followers recently (an awesome guy, who wrote me an email, which was awesome (as only an awesome guy could do)).

Anyways…for me, for many years, I had always been hesitant to look into sudden interests I had. I was always concerned that looking into a field or hobby more intensely wasn’t always the best use of my time. I needed to focus on what I was already good at, not segue into another area altogether.

Often this prevented me from taking paths that might have led to other fantastic lives I might have lived. I don’t regret not taking any of them; I would never have arrived at this point without making the choices I did. But now I get to use all of my experiences from when I studied abroad, when I studied German and Medieval Studies and life in general, to influence and increase the depth and versatility of my burgeoning programming skills.

Okay, perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m still a novice, I’m still learning, but more than ever I see how changing my life has only added to my happiness. I wake up and I’m excited to program. I’m interested in the things I’m going to create. I may not have artistic talent, but I have found a medium where I can express myself.

Don’t be afraid of hard work, sometimes the scarier things are the ones worth doing. Ask yourself, what would I be doing otherwise? If the answers seem boring and uninteresting, and ‘safe’, is it really worth it? Is safety worth all the experiences you’ll keep yourself from having?

I think not.