A Love Letter to the Love Bubble
The Love Bubble of the Denver Flatiron SWE program was like a pair of ultra-funky Monday-Math-Rock vibes sunglasses with rhinestone frames and ultra-cool-so-forward-they’re-the-new-hip lenses for people who think learning is the bees knees.
The coaches have this swagger. There is a culture of “learn and let learn”. A refreshing freedom; a sense that ‘Hey we are all humans here with the same goal of enriching our lives through education so why not do that in a way that works for you’ kind of vibe. They allowed us freedom to run but still kept a watchful eye on our journey.
Inclusivity. Honesty. Brave conversations. Thankful Thursdays and Feelings Fridays. Asking for what you need and striving for what you want. Penguins and riding bicycles. This is the kool-aid recipe. The stuff they tell you to drink on the first day of the program. I wish I could packet it up and send every person in the tech world a sample because it is something special.
It kind of felt like magic.
I remember that I had failed my first code challenge. The transition from being the person who thought setting up your environment meant getting a eucalyptus soy candle and a cat calendar to a developer was anything BUT smooth. I was learning to ride my little developer bike and I crashed. Right into the neighbors parked car.
But instead of feeling like a failure, like I was alone and hopeless in my new pursuit, I felt supported. The coaches were kind when I cried. They disinfected my scraped knee, added a bit of antibiotic ointment and gave me a Sponge Bob band-aid. Then they told me to get back up and try again. They made it a point to tell me that failure isn’t an end. That learning is a process littered with failures. Then, in true Rick and Morty style, they told me to get my shit together and keep going. That is how we grow. It’s how we get good enough to ride a bike without training wheels. And the Love Bubble didn’t just do that for me, they did it for a lot of people.
Who would have thought that something as fragile and delicate as a bubble could be so strong? Could have such an impact on so many lives in such a short time? An impact that reshaped a tiny little corner of a very large world. And they did so through empathy. By being humans and treating people like…well, like people.
This is my thank you. For challenging me. For supporting me. For inviting me into a community of people who I now call family. For changing my life in ways I have yet to even fathom. We need more of this in the world. My heart is a little heavy knowing it is coming to an end. I am grateful to have had this experience and will do my best to share what I have learned from this brief but fantastically and unequivocally unbeatable educational encounter.
Thank You Love Bubble.
