Rare Candy | initial thoughts before moving up into the silicon valley world
- I’ve spent many nights at home this past three weeks just snooping around the web, reading everything that suited my fancy. I just read a great post about Overcoming Impostor Syndrome, something I didn’t realize had a name or was that much of a problem amongst so many people, both girls and guys.
I do acknowledge this as something which I suffer from myself, though hopefully now occasionally and not daily. And I do tend to take my abilities for granted in a slump… - As a result of reading a bunch of start-ups (what is currently suiting my fancy), I’ve drunk too much kool-aid. So much that I’ve slowed down my rate of sketching over the course of these three weeks, dismissing it as a waste of time. I gawk at things like Simple Desktops, admiring abilities of those who have a, so to say, silent but deadly (concise?) visual style. For some stupid reason, I start convincing myself that I’m in the “wrong” sector of my craft: too much emphasis on high-fi and not enough on low-fi.
- Then, comes one of those exchanges, forgetable for the other while significant to the self. Credit is owed where credit is due, this realization of falling into this trap of thinking was not my own: “Perhaps there is such a focus on low-fi because these people lack the ability to make something beautiful” (slightly paraphased). Such a simple statement reminding me about me. [1] And such things makes it feel like every decision as of late was made for the best.
Women in the tech world are rare candy [2] to begin with, while I’m not a developer, this whole episode makes me realize that I am truly rare candy. Sure, I said this plainly, over and over while interviewing, but I’m starting to really believe it. Fine artists who felt that mere expression wasn’t enough, stepped foot into the boys club, attempting to do something meaningful before the adventure is over.
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[1] I wasn’t kidding when I said you were a good influence on me. Really. Related: reading more about women in this world and finding out their strongest link in their support network was the one at home with them makes me feel confident about everything.
[2] At some point, I started to use the phrase “rare candy” to describe a rare kind of individual in a given situation. I thought it was wildly appropriate because often these individuals level up the situation. Normally I’d write a disclaimer here about how I’m not actually all that great despite my rareness, but that was a result of Impostor Syndrome, so I am actively refraining. The first step of recovery is admitting you have a problem!
