INTERVIEW
WITH THE
VAMPIRE

Honestly? Nothing! I had finished the freeCodeCamp curriculum, and was still planning on going into human resources once my unemployment stipend was exhausted. I wanted to give back to freeCodeCamp because I very much believe in the mission, but I was not burning through my nest egg any faster than I had to. So I gave my time and skills instead - which ended up leading to my first job offer and my pathway into the industry. But it didn’t start to become “oh I wanna do this forever” until I was able to move in to my current home with my sister and her boyfriend. Having the ability to provide that sort of lifestyle? No way was I gonna give that up~

Honestly? No. I got super lucky in that my ADHD brain locked the heck in on software engineering. Still got that spark to this day~

But I do have advice! And it is probably unconventional advice. But Naomi’s secret to staying passionate about something? Be kind to yourself. Those moments where you doubt yourself? Where you think “I’m not cut out for this?” Where you wanna throw in the towel and resign yourself to a different path in life?

Those are the moments where you need to give yourself the most grace. Those are the moments where your psyche, your body, your mind, they’re all telling you that you need a vacation. People will say “oh you just gotta power through” and like… I get where they’re coming from! Naomi very much believes that the goals worth your time are the ones that you pursue most relentlessly~

However! All of those down moments I mentioned earlier? You gotta listen to those! Because giving yourself the space to be human, to experience life, to pursue other passions, to feel things??? That’s part of pursuing your goals! If you do not take the rest you need, eventually you’ll be forced to rest. We call that burnout, your entire core just fizzles out and you have no desire to code. And it can last far longer than your rest~

I knew from the beginning that, like many things, the tech industry was very much built for specific types of people. I have been cultivating healthy online communities for far longer than I have been a software engineer - I am acutely aware of the barriers some people face for traits that are entirely beyond their control. It has always been my mission to create spaces where the folks who suffer from the systems can come to thrive, to be their authentic selves, to enjoy life.

And yes, I have encountered communities and organisations alike that are not healthy spaces for marginalised groups. I fight them however I can: carving out spaces within the community for those groups, or advocating for space in a meeting for those overlooked to be heard… but I also believe that the work I do to fight for these spaces in general also impacts the tech community.

I distinctly remember this day. Quincy, who I had only interacted with publicly, had reached out to me directly. It was a simple request. “Hey Naomi, do you have a moment to chat about what you’re working on?” Of course I said yes~

But Naomi, being unemployed and home all the time, was a disaster. I told my dad, who is also a software engineer, and he planted the idea that it might be a job offer. So when I went to go shower and put myself together, that was all I could think about. How unbelievable is that, this thing that was just a hobby of mine becoming a job?? Impossible! Buuuuuuuut lo and behold~

If I could go back in time I would change absolutely nothing about my life. Because, while yes my life is very much a series of increasingly terrible decisions, they ultimately led me to exactly where I was meant to be. If I went back to “correct” one of those, who knows if I’d have the success I do?

Yes, that moment was life changing. That was my path into tech. That was my first role in the industry! Errrr, still is~ From there I went on to expand my network, land more contracts, and ended up with sixteen years of “cumulative experience” in 6 years of “calendar experience”. In other words, Naomi worked multiple jobs at once and still does~

The freeCodeCamp curriculum. Because while I’ve worked on some really cool stuff in my time, nothing will ever top having the opportunity to help define the shape of a curriculum that altered my life directly.

Oh gosh, my sister is absolutely my rock. She keeps me together, helps manage my dysfunction, ensures that my needs and wants are met… Been that way our entire lives! I built Hikari to help fill in the bits that my sister can’t help with, like my heavily NDAed job - certainly not the other way around~

I think in a situation like mine, it is especially important to be candid about this. As a transfemme who found her true self later in life, the experience I had growing up was much more aligned with what most men experience. However, there is much in here that I have insight on, having been exposed to so many different lives in my work.

One does not have to be a “genius” to survive being a software engineer. If you need proof of that, I’m a chaotic nightmare with intermittent intellect. And I still found my success. But I was also fortunate enough to be in a situation that allowed me to succeed.

It is normal to be scared, especially when you’ve heard “girls can’t be good software engineers” during many of your formative years. And it is scary! Especially during economic declines like the one we face now. When companies need to tighten the budget, we see fewer opportunities in our industry.

But I believe everyone can find their success, so long as one remains open to the opportunities the fates provide~

Gosh, I mean Pokémon and Zelda were big subjects in the web apps I built while learning. Video games have always had a special place in my life. My first tattoo was the Triforce. But I also believe that video games are a creative medium, just like literature or theatre or film. And all creative media can be inspirational, can have meaning, can evoke emotions~

But I also consider software engineering to be a creative medium, because we are quite literally creating (or repairing) software! Sounds pretty creative to me~

Anyway, I’ve certainly rambled in this interview. I have a terrible habit of doing that! But if I may take a moment more space to leave some closing thoughts… Know that I believe in you. So long as you are relentless in the pursuit of your goals, and efficient in working toward the future, you will find your success - whatever that may look like for you~