Part of being entrepreneurial is having the desire to look at a complex problem and attempt to fix it. Through a combination of creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, and a curious mind, an entrepreneur is capable of creating "the next great company or product", that has the potential of solving world problems and more. These skills and atrributes, are at the core of who I am, what decicions I make, and how I address every day problems. For example, I enjoy brainstorming creative solutions to limited storage space. By no means is this a robust example of entrepreneurial insight, but it reflects my use of those skills and attributes.
I tend to work best on my own, however, collaborative work is my go-to when it comes to helping my community. While working with youth and families, I was the main advocate for incorporating their voice to improve programming. In this work, I learned motivational interviewing skills, and recognized that I have an intuitive nature when it comes to connecting with others, helping me create bonds to better serve the students and families. Although my results show differently, I enjoy working with people when the work is based on helping my communtiy become empowered, and self-sufficient.
As I reflect on my results, I find it hard to connect with some of the qualities applied to me. I am especially critical about the good qualities, however, this goes hand-in-hand with the Microscope quality. People who fall under the Microscope category are sensitive, introspective, reserved, and unassuming, but they also tend to be harder on themselves than most people. That said, I find that this fits with my personality quite well, as I do struggle with believing in my own abilities, even when I've proven to be successful in the work I do. I think this is due in part to my desire to always keep learning and growing, and sometimes, all the effort I have put into something, isn't enough for my own standards.
Software Development plays a significant role in solving some of the world's toughest issues like lack of affordable healthcare and environmental decline. At a smaller scale, open-source contributors can help communities and individuals by giving them tools, and empowering them to find solutions to their own problems. My goal in software development is to learn skills and tools to help me become self-sufficient, and in turn, use my strengths to give back to my community by helping them become self-sufficient. With this in mind, I hope to not just play to my strengths, but also improve upon them so that I can achieve my goal.
There is a saying, "you don't know what you don't know", which is basically just that. However, what you do know helps you determine the gaps in knowledge you might have. Therefore, just knowing what my strengths and work preferences are, can aide me in making decisions to improve in what I lack, or change the way I work to make full use of my strengths. Knowing who I am as a professional, will provide guidance and motivation, as I embark in the learning process to become a software developer and beyond.