When I was a kid, I wanted to be a professional basketball player.

I ate, slept, drank, and breathed Basketball.

I dreamed of behind the back, no-look, stop the defender in his tracks passes.  I imagined thundering two-handed tomahawk dunks.  I envisioned making last-second three-pointers to lift my imaginary team to imaginary championships.  I had visions of grandeur.

I watched the greats and tried to mimic their moves.  I read everything I could get my hands on about how they made it.  Icons like Larry Bird and Pistol Pete Maravich inspired me with stories of waking up early to practice and train - practicing dribbling, passing, shooting shot after shot, free throw after free throw until they mastered the skills that would make them greatness.

I knew if it took that kind of effort for them to make it, I would have to work just as hard or harder.  So I became a basketball gym rat.  I woke up early in the pre-dawn hours every morning for months to practice.  I shot and shot, dribbled and dribbled, trained and trained.  I recorded myself playing basketball and reviewed the tapes looking for ways to improve.  I studied moves and techiniques.  I practiced shooting technique while lying in bed at night.  I woke up with basketball, and I went to bed with basketball.

Alas, I didn't quite make it to the NBA.

Somewhere along the way I realized that it takes more than just passion and hard work to become an NBA player - uh, you need talent too.  I had a little talent, a lot of passion, and practiced a strong work ethic, but I just didn't have the physical makeup or athletic ability to achieve that kind of success.

That's when I figured out my calling.  I was born to write software.  It's evident in the way I think and in the way I act.  It's evident by the passion that it stirs within me.  It's evident in the talents God gave me.

So now, I'm a software gym rat.

I eat, sleep, drink, and breathe software.

I dream of writing software that changes the world - the kind that people never knew they always needed.  I imagine perfect lines of code that make people think "That was obvious. why didn't I think of that?".  I picture elegant frameworks solving ugly, nasty problems so well that people forget they existed.  I have visions of grandeur.

I watch the greats and try to mimic their moves.  I read everything I can get my hands on - from blogs, to articles, to books.  I practice my craft, learning and re-learning the basics, constantly looking for new techniques and skills.  I study patterns and frameworks.  I ponder problems.  I think in code.  I dream in code.  I jump out of bed in the middle of the night to implement the solutions I just dreamed up.  I wake up with software, and I go to bed with software.

I'm a Software Gym Rat.

I can't help it.  This is who I was meant to be.  NBA, eat your heart out.