One Last Post, and a Proper Goodbye

🦄 What does it mean to be a developer? Is it a hobby, a job, a passion, or some combination of all three?

When I first discovered programming, it was a means to an end and nothing more. I had a GitHub account that I had used in college and then it collected dust in the corner for 10+ years.

A little more than two years ago, I became somewhat obsessed with the whole concept of AI. I had played with ChatGPT before then and was less than impressed because I couldn't figure out how I was supposed to make anything meaningful happen. So I played with it on and off until I got access to Copilot at work. You can read about those adventures in GitHub Copilot Agent Mode: The Mistake You NEVER Want to Make — my personal favorite.

Then it was like a switch flipped in my brain and all of a sudden I could see worlds of endless possibilities. I was determined to bend the LLMs to my will because I knew they were capable of far more than anybody was giving them credit for at the time.

For once, my GitHub finally had something to show off besides dust mites and crickets.

Somewhere along the way, programming had become all three: my job, my hobby, and my passion.

I started writing on DEV around that same time because frankly I was repeating myself so often during training that I couldn't stand to hear myself talk — and I talk to myself all the time, so that was problematic.

The whole intent was for me to have a published copy of instructions to share. What I did not expect was exactly how much fun I'd have writing all of those articles and, even more so, all the great people I'd meet along the way.

But I've been finished writing for awhile already. For some time, DEV challenges kept me busy, but eventually the fun I was having with those fizzled out too.

I don't have one last tutorial or another challenge in me, but I did want to say goodbye. It's time I find something else to occupy my time.

So to my biggest supporters, thank you for all the great conversations and encouragement you gave me along the way. I'd have never made it this far without you: @georgekobaidze, @learn2027, @copyleftdev, @ben, @guypowell.

And to all of you who bothered to read an article or leave a like or debate with me in the comments, thanks for the memories. I'm eternally grateful to all of you. 🫶