Knowing your history can give you the tools to shape your future – Gloria Feldt.
Each of us is the person we are today thanks to the past, to the decisions we took and the moments we lived, forgetting that will only end up losing sight of where we are going. I believe each action I took, not only related to technology but in general, has driven me to the situation I live in today, to my passion for technology, my curiosity into learning cybersecurity or the Apple geek I am nowadays.
I was about 8 years old when I started to have access to computers and get in contact with technology, however, as much as I remember having the time of my life playing online games and searching over random stuff, the truth is that I was also quite limited. Since the very beginning my parents installed a parent control software in the computer, which now that I look back, it makes sense, they were protecting me from this completely new world, and the different threats it has. Nevertheless, for me it was a big deal, none of my friends had a timer for how much they had to use the computer or software that will block them from accessing any pages, for instance, YouTube. This situation persisted for almost 5 years, and whenever I complained, they always answered me with “This is for your own good, you will understand it when you grow up”, and so I did. During high school, most of these restrictions started to disappear as fast as my curiosity and amusement for the technological world and the idea of knowing more about the reasons behind this “protection” were growing. I started to search as much as possible about the possibilities I could have to know more, what career would suit me best, which of all the options will satisfy my curiosity.
By the end of the year before finishing high school I was entirely sure I wanted to do computer science, I needed to know what was behind the technological devices we use every day, how webpages were created, how they were connected with the internet, how computers could run internally, programming, and many, many other things.
For the past three years, my life has been surrounded by new technological discoveries, not only driven by my curiosity but also since I decided to study computer science. I moved to the Netherlands, and I started to build my path towards a future surrounded by technology and new discoveries. Moreover, I never forget why I started and where I want to go, I am still learning so that I can satisfy the doubts the 8-year-old me had and I can understand every single decision my parents took towards my involvement in technology and the ones I wanna take from now on.
Besides satisfying my own curiosity, at some point, I decided I needed to do something more, anything that could distract me from the university routine, but at the same time get me involved in the development of my technological skills, which is how I ended up sending an application to be an IBM Z Ambassador. From that moment I got involved in different activities as an ambassador, a Z Student and later on, some other opportunities I started to seek for. These experiences have given me, and continue today, the opportunity not only to connect with people all around the world and learn from their different skills and experiences but also to develop my technical and communicative skills. Getting involved in these different projects has made me love technology in a completely different way, as much as helping me getting out of my comfort zone and learning that getting some risks can help you achieve your goals.
As for today, I am still building my path and the person I want to be in the future, but something I have clear is that technology has been and will always be part of it, no matter what. I will keep imagining and discovering new technological ideas that will shape my future, hoping one day I can use the knowledge and skills obtained along the road. Not only to continue spreading the word but also to help others understanding and loving technology as much as I do.