jdursema/JDursema_Strengths&StoryTelling

## JDursema_Strengths&StoryTelling
Build on your professional story by thinking about how you're progressing at Turing. Answer the questions below in your own gist to use your StrengthsFinder themes to add to your story:

•	Write 1-2 paragraphs about your StrengthsFinder themes: How have you seen yourself using these strengths at Turing? Has your understanding of these strengths changed since you first reflected on them? If so, how?

  My top strength was adaptability. While at Turing, I’d try to plan out how projects would be completed and when certain pieces would get done. But since we were learning about topics at the same time we were implementing them into our projects, things rarely went as planned. Being adaptable, has helped me go with the flow and abandon plans that I figured out wouldn’t work. It’s also helped me pair well with partners that have different work-types. The first partner I had liked to work together on everything while my second partner preferred splitting up the work and working alone. Although these partners were very different, I was able to adjust my work style to fit theirs.

  Another one of my strengths was context. I often look back at to understand the present. Throughout my time at Turing, I have always looked back at my notes, lessons and old projects to understand new things. Looking back at a code and seeing how it was implemented helps me understand how it can be implemented in something new.

•	Write a story about your Turing experience so far: When have you struggled? How have you dealt with struggle? When have you succeeded at Turing? How did you accomplish those successes?

  One of the biggest struggles I had at Turing was IdeaBox. My partner and I didn’t see eye to eye about how to get the project done and we ended up splitting the project up between javascript and css. I had a really hard time with the javascript especially since we were implementing local storage for the first time. The project was due on Thursday and on Tuesday, I got to a point were I was feeling really overwhelmed and frustrated with the project. I finally reached out to my partner and tried to help, but since we had worked separately, he first had to work to understand my code. We ended up nto finished the whole project before Thursday. I was really frustrated by the end and upset that I couldn’t finish the project, however it was a good learning experience. I learned that I shouldn’t split up a project between javascript and css because it becomes very difficult to look back at someone’s code when you didn’t help write it, Instead you should start a project together and then split small tasks up later on if need be. I also learned that I need to be more vocal about my concern instead of being passive and non confrontational. I did eventually voice my concerns with my partner, but it was too late in the project and I wish we had started the project differently.

A success for me while at Turing has been ToDo box. For ToDo box we had to take the code from IdeaBox and pivot it to do something else. Going into ToDo box, I was apprehensive because I had a hard time with IdeaBox. However, taking what I learned from IdeaBox, my partner and I worked much closer and much more effectively. My partner helped me better understand local storage. We found a bug 30 minutes before the project was due and I was able to fix it on my own because everything I was learning was starting to come together and make sense to me.

•	Answer the question: how does your Turing story end? Create a vision for your future and your career transition into being a junior developer.

  I’m not very good at looking towards the future. My strengths, adaptably and context, make me better at looking at the past and present. I know I don’t want to work remotely and I definitely want to work as part of a team as a junior developer. I really hope to stay in Denver as well.

•	After you practice storytelling in the session, answer this question: What was particularly easy or difficult about telling your story? What are 1-2 steps that you can take to continue to improve your abilities to tell your story, talk about yourself with ease, and examine your strengths?

  The easiest parts of telling my story are explaining why I left my old job and why I came to Turing. During both of these parts of my story, I talk about loving to work with other people and my love of problem solving. The most difficult parts of my story are talking about what I want to do in the future since I haven’t quite figured that out. Over the break, I should look over junior developer job postings to gain a better idea of what kind of job I want. I also would like to include my strengths in my story better. I should look closer at my strengths finder results and write out how I would like to include them in my story.
	Build on your professional story by thinking about how you're progressing at Turing. Answer the questions below in your own gist to use your StrengthsFinder themes to add to your story:

	• Write 1-2 paragraphs about your StrengthsFinder themes: How have you seen yourself using these strengths at Turing? Has your understanding of these strengths changed since you first reflected on them? If so, how?

	My top strength was adaptability. While at Turing, I’d try to plan out how projects would be completed and when certain pieces would get done. But since we were learning about topics at the same time we were implementing them into our projects, things rarely went as planned. Being adaptable, has helped me go with the flow and abandon plans that I figured out wouldn’t work. It’s also helped me pair well with partners that have different work-types. The first partner I had liked to work together on everything while my second partner preferred splitting up the work and working alone. Although these partners were very different, I was able to adjust my work style to fit theirs.

	Another one of my strengths was context. I often look back at to understand the present. Throughout my time at Turing, I have always looked back at my notes, lessons and old projects to understand new things. Looking back at a code and seeing how it was implemented helps me understand how it can be implemented in something new.

	• Write a story about your Turing experience so far: When have you struggled? How have you dealt with struggle? When have you succeeded at Turing? How did you accomplish those successes?

	One of the biggest struggles I had at Turing was IdeaBox. My partner and I didn’t see eye to eye about how to get the project done and we ended up splitting the project up between javascript and css. I had a really hard time with the javascript especially since we were implementing local storage for the first time. The project was due on Thursday and on Tuesday, I got to a point were I was feeling really overwhelmed and frustrated with the project. I finally reached out to my partner and tried to help, but since we had worked separately, he first had to work to understand my code. We ended up nto finished the whole project before Thursday. I was really frustrated by the end and upset that I couldn’t finish the project, however it was a good learning experience. I learned that I shouldn’t split up a project between javascript and css because it becomes very difficult to look back at someone’s code when you didn’t help write it, Instead you should start a project together and then split small tasks up later on if need be. I also learned that I need to be more vocal about my concern instead of being passive and non confrontational. I did eventually voice my concerns with my partner, but it was too late in the project and I wish we had started the project differently.

	A success for me while at Turing has been ToDo box. For ToDo box we had to take the code from IdeaBox and pivot it to do something else. Going into ToDo box, I was apprehensive because I had a hard time with IdeaBox. However, taking what I learned from IdeaBox, my partner and I worked much closer and much more effectively. My partner helped me better understand local storage. We found a bug 30 minutes before the project was due and I was able to fix it on my own because everything I was learning was starting to come together and make sense to me.

	• Answer the question: how does your Turing story end? Create a vision for your future and your career transition into being a junior developer.

	I’m not very good at looking towards the future. My strengths, adaptably and context, make me better at looking at the past and present. I know I don’t want to work remotely and I definitely want to work as part of a team as a junior developer. I really hope to stay in Denver as well.

	• After you practice storytelling in the session, answer this question: What was particularly easy or difficult about telling your story? What are 1-2 steps that you can take to continue to improve your abilities to tell your story, talk about yourself with ease, and examine your strengths?

	The easiest parts of telling my story are explaining why I left my old job and why I came to Turing. During both of these parts of my story, I talk about loving to work with other people and my love of problem solving. The most difficult parts of my story are talking about what I want to do in the future since I haven’t quite figured that out. Over the break, I should look over junior developer job postings to gain a better idea of what kind of job I want. I also would like to include my strengths in my story better. I should look closer at my strengths finder results and write out how I would like to include them in my story.