Ever since I was a little kid back in Ecuador I always thought I was destined for success, daydreaming about rockets and technology. My elementary school teacher used to tell me I was brilliant in Mathematics, my high school teacher was very impressed because I was the very first student to ever graduate high school with a perfect score in Mathematics and Physics. They both told me "I can't wait to see where do you ended up".
I studied civil engineering in college but unfortunately I had to drop out and move here to the USA because my girlfriend got pregnant and I wanted to be a responsible man.
Here in the USA I got so much energy and inspiration from NYC and technology entrepreneurs especially Elon Musk. I wanted to be the next "dropout self-made millionaire" so bad that I started educating myself in Economics, Programing, Stock Trading, Marketing, Graphic design and yes even English by just watching South Park ("Goddamnit") and reading books.
In the following years I partnered up with a friend and set up a delivery service for small businesses in NYC, I launched a website and app for printing photos from social media accounts, I launched a website that helps small businesses grow their exposure in social media, I launched an online clothing store, I opened a Star Wars themed pizzeria in Ecuador, I opened one of the best SkateShops in Ecuador and some other projects. I thought I was doing great, drunk in this "take risk mindset" but then my delivery service lost our main client and everything collapsed from there. I realized I was just subsidizing my side projects, I tried to save them so bad but I lost everything and ended up with over $100k in debt in my mid twenties.
"Fear incentives my creativity"
I went though dark times, I had to promise my wife I would give up on my entrepreneurial dreams and start fresh, I ended up working in Bloomberg LP and soon after I was creating automation solutions for my team and my goal now is to work in the Engineering department but I don't even have a college degree. My mentor advised me to enroll this Software Engineering program here in Flatiron School so I can get the right skills. He again just like my school teacher told me: "I can't wait to see where do you ended up".
I always thought I was destined for success, then I lost almost a decade on my journey. I always wanted to be an inventor, an entrepreneur, create something from scratch, I know I promised my wife I would give up on my dreams, but deep inside I still have that flame eager to conquer the world. This is why I decided to study Software Engineering.
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