You know who you are.
Thank you to the person who doesn't make fun of the fat guy. The person who cheers him on instead. The person who always respects effort. The person who tries to kindle a spark in others. The person who encourages everyone, especially those who need it most. The kind of person who picks others up instead of putting them down. The person who mentors instead of bullies.
Thank you to that person because you make more of an impact than you realize. That person to me has taken the form as a professor, coach, training partner, academic peer, and also as an anonymous stranger online. These kinds of individuals have provided invaluable insight, positive encouragement, as well as criticism of only constructive nature.
If it weren’t for the support I’ve received from others, I would not have been able to make a leap of faith, to eventually bring a career change into Software Engineering to fruition, to step inside the ring and give it my all.
Progressing in either of these endeavors has not come naturally to me. To say I have struggled is an underestimate. And while I bring strong resolve to the table, in essence, these strides were only made possible by others.
Academically, I was embarrassed at how slow I was to learn new concepts and seemingly abstract material. But with time has come competency and confidence, almost exclusively because of the professors, TAs, ULAs, friends, and even redditors who nevertheless went out of their way to help. The amount of patience required to build my understanding is much more than I care to admit, yet these individuals made time for me.
Athletically, I also lacked competency and confidence. For example, my first sparring session was with an athlete far more advanced than me. And you know what? It could not have gone better because I trained with that kind of ‘stand up’ person. They were not there to cave my face in. They evaluated my skill level, saw that I had many flaws, and recognized I was admittedly terrified. However, I mustered the courage to try only because of their support. By the end of three rounds, it was apparent they had facilitated immense learning. They had introduced me to a new world. They vitalized a blossoming passion. Getting hit for the first time was jarring, but also enlightening in a way... It was almost a cathartic realization that I wasn't made of glass.
So thank you. I couldn't be more grateful for my family, friends, professors, coaches, study buddies, training partners, and virtual boxing and programming communities.
Boxing has been therapeutic, coding has been fulfilling, and I'm the happiest I've ever been because of it.