About twenty years ago, freshly graduated as a photographer, I was struggling to find a job. The digital camera had become affordable and everyone knew someone who's take some pictures for free.

Not really into the networking that comes with a photography career, I set out to focus on graphic design. Spending time in front of the computer screen is a lot more fun than behind a camera and I prepare myself for a career as a graphic designer. I soon found my place in a publishing house. I stayed about five years and left just before the company went bankrupt. I tried to venture into communication management but stranded at a wrong job before I became an independent graphic designer, specialized in editorial design. The past seven years, this is how I marketed myself. But the job offers became dull, the pay is too low and a nasty illness kept me home. Just as I was about to set out focussing in my career again, covid-19 hit the world, and I lost all my contracts for 2020. The downside of being an editorial designer is that mostly my clients are publishing houses, whom decided to take it slow in 2020 as soon as the advertisment-market crumbled down. No events means no ads, means no publications and no job for me.

While I was home being ill, I'd already been thinking about changing career and looking for a more stable future. I'd already tried programming with Python, but struggled too much with moving on, it became frustrating. A talk with a friend later, I started delving into web development and JavaScript. I began a course at Codecademy, and another one and realised this is what I was already trying my luck at, twenty years ago. Back then I created websites with Dreamweaver, learned to work with Flash and later moved on to Adobe Muse. I liked the WYIWYG-idea but always missed the smoothness of working with Adobe Indesign. I could read code, but I couldn't write tables. And when CSS arrived, I really gave up and just moved back to the printed world.

Now, I am immensely eager to move to digital design and development. Somehow it finally all clicked and I've been enjoying the past 3 months learning HTML, CSS and early steps in JavaScript. I'm discovering tools like Figma and VS Code. It feels like I entered a new playground with an amazing online crew of fellow students and practitioners each helping each other to be better at what they like.

I'm curious where this route will take me. Eventhough I'm only just at the beginning, I'm totally loving the journey so far.