When I was 5 years old, I walked into the living room of my childhood house and announced to my PhD-holding father that I wanted to be a server at Waffle House. The sophisticated kid I was, I thought it was the best restaurant in the world. And the idea of making waffles all day long? Sign me the fuck up.
Perhaps I should have stuck with this original plan. Instead, factors such as a livable salary and career fulfillment got in the way, and my dreams turned a tad more ambitious. I gradually moved into STEM, got a degree in Mathematics, and became a programmer right out of college. I was skilled at it, it was good money, and, after all, we needed more female programmers. Unfortunately, it wasn't until 2 years into my career that I actually stopped to ask myself, "Wait, do I even like this?"
Under different circumstances, maybe the answer to that question would have been different. Maybe if I programmed at a different company whose values were more inline with mine, maybe if the workplace environment for women in IT wasn't filled with sexism and exhaustion, or maybe if the break room's vending machine wasn't constantly running out of Sour Patch Kids. But with all that in mind, the answer became clear to me: No.
So, here I am, 6 months and one less job later. I've written a few short stories, a draft of a novel, and now, my very first blog post. It's taken me a while to admit that I want to be a writer and even longer to admit that I am one. But here I go.
My name is Violet Welles, and I'm a writer. Come down the well with me.
