In the beginning...

When people ask me why I chose engineering, I never really had a concrete answer for them until my mom sent me this random email. The subject was "Where it all started...". There were no other words, just a few pictures.

The kid with the spikey blond hair is me, and my brother (whose name is Cole Braden ) is the short, almost bald one. Our mom was still learning how to cut hair. We are both wearing Steampunk outfits, and looking every bit the nerdy homeschoolers that we were. It's hard to believe that this was more than 7 years ago.

Those pictures were from the Ottawa Robotics Competition; the most popular robotics compeititon in the city where Cole and I grew up. About 60 teams were entered the year that we competed. Our dad, who is an engineer for Canada's Department of Defense, signed Cole and I up. Most teams had 7+ members; we were the only 2-person team.

Cole and I spent several gruelling months preparing for the competition. I would be lying if I said I enjoyed the process. I hated it. I hated it when the program didn't work, I hated finishing school knowing that I would have to work on the robot that night. To summarize: I hated it.

On the day of the competition, Cole and I were so nervous, we couldn't even speak, but as the day went on, we met some of our friends and started talking about the competition. There are a few insanely great things about talking to fellow tech nerds:

1. There is no small talk. Hallelujah.
2. Everyone in the conversation genuinely wants to be there. Nerds have no problem tuning out of a conversation, so you know that when everyone looks engaged, it's not theatre.
3. You instantly have something to talk about. Tech nerds can talk shop for hours.

I loved spending time socializing with nerds more than I hated preparing for competition. We griped about the rules of the competition, and how well it would be run if the organizers had only talked to us before hand. I felt that everyone had gone through the same thing that I did.

That's where it clicked for me: tech isn't about a hacker in a hoodie solving LeetCode problems. It's about the community; it's about building something awesome with people you like.

For those following along at home, we won one of the two competitions we entered. Not bad for a rookie team.

I'm going to emulate my hero, He-Man, and end with a moral. Cue that sweet, sweet 80s synth.

If you feel like you're stuck completing an engineering degree that you hate, instead of quitting, try joining your school's robotics club (or something similar; there are more clubs than students these days...). You'll meet people who are driven, and the dedication for their craft will rub off on you.

Anyway, it's a Thursday, and I have things to do. I'm planning on throwing it down old school. I.e. brewing tea & reading some P.G. Wodehouse. I'm an animal.

Pip pip,

Gabe