# I dropped my CS major because I couldn’t do a bubble sort.


I dropped my idea of a double major, stuck with Economics, and started working in international development. Life went on. Now, as a successful mid career professional with a somewhat stressful job, I was looking for a “midlife reprieve.” I decided to learn to code again. I wanted the adult to conquer the fear that cut short the dream of a child. I also remembered how coding helps destress and clear the mind (before the bubble sort came in).

I started my journey of code. Here’s the **TL;DR**

* 2000 hours of weekends and evenings — *check*

* Close to 60,000 users for one of my software products — *check*

* 5 software products in Chromestore — *check*

* Can code up an app in a week, something that would have taken me 3–4 months, just two years ago — *check*

And **most importantly** a lifelong desire to continue as a (hobbyist) programmer.

### The longer version:

I am not an expert programmer. Novice++ at best. My code is very green. I know it. My partner [Abir Qasem](https://twitter.com/abirqasem), who has a Phd in Computer Science, agrees. But I have no fear of programming anymore and I do have a few products that people like and **use. **I am deeply humbled by the knowledge that I have so much more to learn. But at the same time I am very happy and proud of whatever little I have achieved.

I kept records of my progress mostly to learn from my experience and to know if and when I need to throw in the towel. But since this journey has at least, on a personal level, become a success story, I want to share. I have inspired by the journey of others. So I am sharing my story in the hope others may find it useful. And I like infographics too. So ‘nuff text.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1630771959096/fXZOPTY_z.png)

### (thanks to [Free Code Camp](https://twitter.com/freeCodeCamp), [Quincy Larson](https://twitter.com/ossia), [Luca](https://github.com/lucaong), Ben at Google, and [Google Plus Group for Add-On Developers](https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/117193953428311185494))