I have loved writing code since I first discovered I could program games into my calculator. TI-BASIC remains the single worst language I have ever used (not to mention the difficulty of typing on a calculator), but I couldn't stop. Once I made a "guess the number" game, I wanted to make craps and black jack and liar's dice, the development process as fun as the games themselves. From there I learned Python, C++, Java, JavaScript, PHP, etc. and I still haven't stopped.As someone with anxiety, I love the freedom to make mistakes and break code, never more than a git command from safety. I enjoy work where experimenting with established paradigms is not only facilitated, but necessary. I love taking something I built a year ago and making it better and better, a reflection of my own growth. I love the eagerness in the coding community to help each other solve problems. Open source code in many ways should not work, especially at scale, but we see technical challenges as a shared foe that we all gain from solving. I love mentoring co-workers and learning from my their unique perspectives and specialties. I feel proud when I set up a teammate for success or help them add to their skillset.I value empathy, authenticity, and innovation. I value kind people who never stop learning, because they are crucial to good software development, and I like to consider myself one of them.