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Hello {{first_name|Motivated and Miffed Community}},
Confession: I dropped out of computer science at UH Mānoa.
And now I’m building apps without coding. Life has jokes.
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🖊️Letter for the Editor: The Detour That Shipped
“I like computers” is not a career plan
Back then, I chose computer science for the same reason people buy a standing desk.
It felt like the responsible thing to do because I spent so much time on my computer anyway.
Then reality kicked in.
Coding did not give me an instant identity, instant confidence, or instant “wow look at me go” dopamine.
So my college brain did what many of our brains do when the reward is delayed.
It checked out.
🔍 The part nobody tells you
A lot of us don’t quit because we are lazy.
We quit because we cannot feel the return yet.
Habits become identity.
And when your daily habit feels like struggle with no visible progress, your brain starts negotiating an exit like it’s a union rep.
Turns out, I didn’t quit. I tabled it.
Fast forward: I can build an app without writing code.
And I already have the skills to video it, market it, and actually ship it.
That’s the wild part.
The thing I thought I “failed at” was not a dead end. It was a detour until the conditions made sense.
I look back at my younger self and I want to say:
You didn’t drop out. You postponed it until it could become something bigger.
What do you think of this issue?
🛠️ The 15-minute move: The “Table It, Don’t Trash It” list
If you’ve got a thing you abandoned (a skill, a project, a dream), do this today:
Write the thing you “quit.” (Example: “coding,” “podcasting,” “writing,” “fitness.”)
Write why it felt pointless then. (No payoff, no community, no use-case, no time.)
Write what changed now. (Tools, maturity, resources, motivation, a real problem to solve.)
Do one tiny re-entry action.
Watch one 6-minute tutorial
Draft one outline
Create one rough version
Make one ugly prototype
Send one message to someone doing it
You are not trying to “restart your life.”
👋 That’s All
You’re not rebooting your entire existence. You’re just nudging one dusty acorn back into motion. 🐿️
Tiny step. Low drama. High momentum.
Stay MOTIVATED,
Gio