I’m just a normal-goofy-happy girl living in Silicon Valley. I’ve made many mistakes in life, some big, some small but I’ll always chuckle at my blunders, learn and move on. Looking back, mistakes in life are like stepping stones to something better. And here’s why.

I’m an accidental software engineer. I dropped out of high school when I was 17. I excelled in sports but failed miserably in academics. My parents never had the chance to go to school and their biggest hope was for me to go to college so that I could have a better life than them. Well, being a stubborn teenager, I never believed in such crap. I dropped out to prove to them and society that I can make it without a college degree. Oh boy, it was a hard year. Qualifications play a big role in Asia, without it, you are nobody. I wasn’t treated with any respect and people assumed I was stupid.

My first job was in a bakery, making $3/hour and working 12 hours, 7 days a week. The job was mundane, boring and my brain cells were rotting away. I couldn’t find a more intellectually-challenging job because society deems me stupid! I don’t think anyone is stupid, people might be lazy, but not stupid. Eventually, I left and took another job that paid $5/hour. It was a job selling car polish at gas stations (aka petrol kiosks). It was my first sales job and surprisingly, I did very well. I was making over $100 in commission everyday. Not bad for a 17 year old.

I could’ve continued in sales but I decided to go back to school because I wanted to have more options in life. I wanted to have a skill, hence I decided to major in computer science. My first language was Pascal on a DEC machine. I fell in love with programming when I worked on a medical decision system in LISP and C++. Making something that’s useful in life was amazing!

I would say dropping out of high school was a BIG mistake but because of it I had many more opportunities and options in life that fueled my adventure and playful nature. It gave me a life in a new country, doing what I love!

email: aihui.o gmail dot com

linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/aihui