Being a software developer is a lot like being human.
Being a woman software developer is like being human with extra edge cases.
I write code for a living.
Sometimes I write bugs professionally.
And occasionally, I write code that works on the first run — which is deeply suspicious and should be reviewed by science.
The Compiler Is Honest. People Are Not.
One thing I love about code:
- If it doesn’t like you, it tells you immediately.
- If you’re wrong, it throws an error.
- If you forget a semicolon, it remembers forever.
Life, on the other hand, waits three years and then says:
“Hey… remember that decision you made? Yeah. About that.”
In programming, we call this technical debt.
In life, we call it experience.
As a Woman in Tech, I Learned Early About “Undefined Behavior”
There are two kinds of bugs:
- The ones you expect.
- The ones that happen because the environment is… creative.
Sometimes I walk into a meeting and:
- I’m the only woman.
- I’m also the backend.
- And somehow still expected to fix frontend CSS.
This is not imposter syndrome.
This is runtime context awareness.
My Brain Runs on TODO Comments
My mind is basically:
// TODO: fix sleep schedule
// TODO: refactor life choices
// TODO: stop overthinking edge cases
Every time I say “I’ll do it later,”
a TODO comment is silently added to my soul.
And just like in real projects:
- Some TODOs become features.
- Some become bugs.
- Some live forever and scare new contributors.
Debugging Is Just Asking Better Questions
People think debugging is about being smart.
It’s not.
It’s about asking questions like:
- “What did I assume?”
- “What did I change?”
- “Why does this work only on my machine?”
- “Why does it stop working when someone is watching?”
Honestly, debugging taught me emotional intelligence:
- Don’t panic.
- Observe.
- Reduce the problem.
- Remove assumptions.
- Take breaks before you delete everything.
Humor Is My Favorite Framework
Tech moves fast.
Trends change.
Frameworks come and go.
But humor?
- Zero dependencies.
- Backward compatible.
- Works across teams.
- Excellent for handling production incidents at 3 AM.
When the server is down and everyone is stressed,
sometimes the most senior move is saying:
“Okay. This is bad. But also… kinda funny.”
Then you fix it. Obviously.
Confidence Is a Skill, Not a Setting
I didn’t wake up confident.
I compiled it over time.
Confidence came from:
- Breaking things.
- Fixing them.
- Asking “stupid” questions.
- Shipping anyway.
- Learning that perfection doesn’t deploy. The best developers I know aren’t fearless. They just commit despite the warnings.
Final Build: Still Experimental
I’m still learning.
Still refactoring.
Still discovering bugs in old logic.
But I ship.
I learn.
I laugh.
I write code.
And I’m very comfortable saying:
“I don’t know yet — but I will.”
If you’re a developer reading this:
- Your bugs don’t define you.
- Your errors are data.
- Your weird brain is probably a feature.
And if today feels broken…
Try restarting.
With coffee ☕
And maybe fewer assumptions.
Thanks for reading.
If this resonated, you’re probably running the same version of reality as me.
Top comments (6)
This is such a sharp, thoughtful piece — witty, honest, and deeply relatable, especially the way you blend debugging with real-life growth. Your humor and clarity turn real experience into insight, and it’s genuinely inspiring to read.😉
Thanks💛I'm really glad it resonated with you and made you smile.
Good!😎
Such a great read—smart, funny, and painfully relatable in the best way. I love how you turned real dev struggles into something empowering and human. That takes real confidence 👏
Thank you so much! 💙 That really means a lot to me—turning those struggles into something empowering was exactly the goal.
This was such a refreshing read. The way you map debugging principles to real life is not just funny, it’s surprisingly insightful 😄