What is Life

Welcome back everyone. I have the exciting news that you will get the opportunity to read the first official blog post for the “Humanity” page. The goal is to share the multitude of human stories of individuals and expose the beauty of each other. The first person is a good friend of mine. We have known each other for a little over a decade and still keep in touch every now and then. We had the opportunity to go on a recent camping trip and I had asked him if he was willing to share something about himself. And surprisingly, I learned a lot about this individual that I didn’t know before. So, please enjoy reading the fascinating story of Vernon. 

Vernon was born late at night on the 29th of November, 1995 at the Rehoboth Christian Hospital in Gallup, New Mexico. Little did he know that his journey would lead him to sharing his life with the world in a blog post in 2024. But to be fair, I don’t think we really know anything when we are born into this world. So I’ll let it slide this one time. Based on our conversation, I would describe Vernon as family-oriented, passionate, tech-savvy, curious, innovative, and wise. Currently, he works as an Information Technician (IT), but has the aspiration to journey into the world of Coding. His interest in technology began during his younger years and that has guided his passion throughout his academics and career. He often cherishes his family and has birthday celebrations with his immediate family often. One thing I would like to share before we further go into this story, is that Vernon is a very wise person. In fact, when discussing the significance of birthday festivities, he shared this critical piece of wisdom that I will forever hold onto; he stated, “If you don’t do anything special on that day, it won’t become special”. Personally, I think there are tons of layers that could go into that statement alone. And it does not have to only apply to birthdays but to all significant celebrated days. Again, this guy is quite wise. Make those special days special or else they won’t be. Heavy stuff in my opinion. But his story isn’t all about festivities and deep info, in fact it leans more towards career and technology.

One of the main topics/questions that formed throughout our conversation was, “Is Information Technology (IT)  something you always wanted to do?” And with utmost confidence, Vernon said, “no, I was more driven to be a Coder”. This answer then led to what would then be the bulk of our discussion. During his highschool years, Vernon had taken dual credits and fell in love with coding. He found even more joy in the practice as he went into college and learned of the various languages and depth the craft held. He understood that there was a level of competitiveness of being a Coder and that alone was worthy of pursuing. He went on to say that coding can be done anywhere. And his personal preference would be to work from home in a city; have an apartment and be able to do more recreational activities outside of work. 

So why isn’t Vernon coding right now? Well, he said his current life stage is all about finding that sense of stability and independence. He is still in school and is about nine classes away from achieving a bachelor’s degree. He believes that by completing this part of his life, he can then move onto being more independent and having the right tools to venture into coding. Back in 2018, he had owned his own apartment, and he remembers that power of being independent. While he misses it, he also understands that his current life stage is where he needs to be. He is putting in the work (and while it can be tiresome), he knows the fruit it will reap once he finishes his goal. 

I truly believe Vernon is on the right path. And as stated earlier, I’ve known this guy for a while now, and I know he is fully capable of reaching his goals. But while we were talking about Coding and IT, I had to ask him what was the difference between the two professions. I’m not sure if anyone else can relate, but I am not a tech-savvy person; I don’t know the difference. Luckily, Vernon was more than happy to explain. He explains that Coding is a software development that is created with mathematics and algorithms. There are different versions; some variations of the software can be used for game development, web development, app development, etc. basically anything made electronically will have coding involved. Information Technology on the other-hand is more catered toward technology issues, troubleshooting and service calls. He goes onto saying that one is a more independent profession, while the other relies on a small network of technicians. After he explained the differences, it was evident to see that Vernon truly enjoys the concept of Coding and that his independent nature would go hand-in-hand with the profession. 

When asked what inspired him to become so indulged with technology, Vernon said that as a kid, he loved messing around with electronics. In doing so, his curiosity led him to breaking devices and looking at what made devices tick; he began to notice the various functions of circuit boards, wires, cables, and batteries. He didn’t make sense of everything initially, but as the years went on, his knowledge grew. He mentions that a pivotal point for his passion with technology probably sprouted from when his family’s home computer broke down. And with his curiosity, a new spark of interest emerged. He then knew that working with computers would be something he would be very much inclined to work towards as he aged. Overtime, he realized both the complexity and simplicity of computers. He went on to say that there are primarily five components that make up a computer: Motherboard, CPU, Hard Drive, Ram, and Power Supply. And the price range of building your own computer could be anywhere between $400-$500 easily. He highly urges people to make their own computer, which would allow the user to have more freedom in design and function, as well as solving the issues with more comprehension of the device. And he states it is relatively easy to build one. And of course, there are other add-ons that might increase the price, but the main components are doable with a budget. This is truly an individual with many talents. 

Vernon is onto great things. And our conversation led to much more topics that are just as fascinating to what I’ve written down. I could go on writing for at least another page with the content we conversed over, but I think I’ll save that for another post. If you ever come across Vernon, give him a shoutout and continue to encourage him to keep pursuing his education and the path of Coding. Thank you all for reading this week’s blog post. Have a fantastic week. Hit the subscribe button or follow me on my other social network pages. God bless!