I had the pleasure of presenting two sessions this past January at CodeMash 2019. This was my fifth year attending the conference and I can’t say enough good things about the team and presenters that give so generously each year. I’ve learned a lot just by watching them!
Four years ago, as I was considering my “mid-career” life, I attended the Lightening Talks that are presented midway through the conference. This is an “open mic” event where any attendee (and even some attendee family members in the past) can present on a topic of their choice in 6 minutes or less.
The talks that year were funny, heartfelt, inspiring, and encouraging. Between those talks and some other encounters at the conference, I started to pursue opportunities to teach and present. Although I’m not able to do it as often as I’d like (family and my day job come first!), it is always a blessing to take something I’ve learned and encourage others to dig deeper.
Fast forward a couple of years, having just struggled through the choice of leaving my long-time employer, and having our sixth child… and I was in the right place to be challenged and inspired in my professional life by some of our favorite Christmas movies.
So much so, that I thought it would make a perfect Lightening Talk. On a personal level, this is one of the most satisfying talks I’ve presented in a while, even at less than 6 minutes.
Slides can be found in my Github repo
I hope you enjoy it.