The great adventure of the Bootcamp at Ironhack.
One day a coworker told me about Bootcamps and then by coincidence I watch something about them on a TV show. I had just quit my last job and was about to try to become a “freelancer”. I had studied in Berlin before, done a Web Design Diploma, and the truth is that I had not been very happy with it, not because I had not learned, on the contrary, I learned a lot, but because of the content. I thought in the Web Design Diploma there would be more design than programming. So I was there from 2014 to 2016 studying 35% design and 65% -PHP-. To me knowing how to program called my attention, but I was not passionate about coding like I am with Designing. Anyway, it was hard but I finished it. 5 years later the universe has allowed me to do this Bootcamp in UX/UI something I never imagined. At that time in 2014, studying UX/UI Design was only possible if you had a “Bachelor” that normally lasts 3 years and I could only invest 1 year and a half in a Diploma. So as you can see, studying UX/UI today without a bachelor’s degree is like a gift of destiny for me.
I have enjoyed every minute of the pre-work you have to do before entering the Bootcamp. I have taken the time to enjoy it completely, do all the exercises and read every article with a lot of motivation. So if you are thinking about doing a Bootcamp too, I recommend you to start the pre-work very soon because it will help you to be on the same level as your peers, even if you don’t have a graphic design background like me.
The truth is that I imagined what a UX/UI career was like but not really how much I was going to enjoy it. I am passionate about psychology, so much so that I started studying psychology as a hobby at the national distance university in Spain. Only little by little, enrolling two or one subject per semester. It has helped me a lot because at the time of doing the interviews in the research part you can use your psychological empathy with your interviewees. It is also a very beautiful part of the research because you have the opportunity to see the human side of people in their own business.
The one who has totally stolen my heart has been Figma, I wrote about it before. The way Figma helps you collaborate with your team is wonderful. Then designers from all over the world share their work so that others can use it. Yes, gentlemen, no more selfishness and egoism, the future is cooperative and the future name is Figma. The design needs to create standards to make our work easier and also, the information of tomorrow must be shared so that we learn to live in the community. Speaking of communities be sure to visit the Figma community where you will find gold for your design careers.
But I still want to tell you the most exciting part of this story, how I discovered that I am resilient.
When I started the Bootcamp on January 11th I didn’t know that apart from everything I was going to like, the lovely people I was going to meet, the quality of the teachers I was going to have and how motivated I was. I was about to live a very strong experience. The emotional connotation that in the middle of the Bootcamp my father was going to pass away. I don’t want you to think that reading this is something sad, on the contrary, death is part of life and lifelike my fathers should be celebrated. But yes, in the middle of the third week and just an hour before the presentation of my first project alone, my father passed away.
At that moment everything came to my mind, my father taking me to school and walking with me as he walked and supported me every day with my dreams. I have been very fortunate, so I took courage and as best as I could I made my presentation. It was an OK presentation. I was very nervous almost with a lump in my throat. But from that moment the Bootcamp implode inside my heart on a rainbow of feelings.
I related it to resilience, how from any difficult moment we can see the positive side. Yes, my father always wanted me to do my best, in any circumstance and I knew he would be proud to know that I finished the Bootcamp.
Along with all these emotions that I was living I understood that vulnerability is very important, we must know how to show it. I tried not to say anything. But one day in the morning sunshine (that's how we called in the Bootcamp for mornings spontaneous presentation about something funny or something we like) a week before my father passed away I told my colleagues that he was very sick and I was sad and worried, this helped me to continue. There are times when pretending to be strong is useless and what really makes you stronger is to show your vulnerability.
The Bootcamp is not over yet, we are still in week 7, what a rollercoaster of emotions, don't you think? just like life itself…
This experience is connected to me in a very beautiful way, because it is connected to my heart and with the beautiful memory of a father who supported me in all my dreams, even in the craziest ones…
I’ll promise to keep you posted… in the meantime, don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and embrace resilience. There is always a light after the tunnel.
