If you look back at my second blog post, you’ll see that Flatiron School was my first love that I hoped I might come back to someday. And I’m so happy to write that I’m the recipient of the of a Facebook + Flatiron School Breakthrough Scholarship, and I’ll be coming back to my first love. But there’s more to this story. Flatiron School has been an incredible part of my healing journey, and with this scholarship, I feel like I’m at the highest point in my recovery because they said yes.

A year and a half ago I sat in a doctor’s office after experiencing horrific symptoms after the birth of my fourth kid. The doctor looked at me after I told her everything that was happening and said, “You’re not my problem.” This was the absolute worst moment of my entire life. If you could suck all the hope out of someone, this is how you do it. Here is a person I trusted and needed, and she pushed me out the door. And in that moment, my life changed.

But coding helped me to focus, to re-imagine my future without the trauma. When I started Flatiron School’s online bootcamp prep and completed their accelerated bootcamp prep, I knew that I had to be a part of this community. Everyone from the school–especially their co-founder and dean–was so supportive, and their curriculum made sense to me. I’ve been teaching English for the past 10 years, and my teaching philosophy is laying around here somewhere. Flatiron School must’ve read it, because I felt at home in their learning environment. And honestly, it felt safe, which is huge for a person who’s been through trauma. But here’s the thing: I didn’t/still don’t have the money to be part of the program.

But with support and encouragement from some amazing people at Flatiron School and the Moms Can: Code community, I applied for the scholarship and got an interview. I thought it went really well, but I fought the hope that was growing. I didn’t want to get my hopes let down. I didn’t want to be back in the doctor’s office. But after receiving the phone call, I finally gave myself permission to be hopeful, to be excited. So, thank you to Flatiron School for saying yes and being part of my story. Now this coding is about to get serious.