Dreams Don’t Always Arrive on Schedule

梦想并不总是如期而至

A few days ago, I was sitting in front of my computer much later than I planned. The room was quiet except for my keyboard and my occasional sigh when I couldn’t solve the same problem for many hours. I was working on a small project. For an experienced developer, it would probably take only a few hours, but for me, I was still trying to understand why my code was not working as expected.

几天前，我坐在电脑前，时间比我计划的晚了很多。房间里很安静，只有键盘的敲击声，以及我因数小时无法解决同一个问题而发出的阵阵叹息。我当时正在做一个小项目。对于经验丰富的开发者来说，这可能只需要几个小时，但对我而言，我还在努力弄清楚为什么我的代码没有按预期运行。

At one moment, I leaned back in my chair and asked myself a question: “Did I choose the wrong time to follow my dream?” It is not an easy question to ask yourself. When I first became interested in programming, I wasn’t thinking about money, remote work, or becoming successful. What interested me was the fact that people can create something from their imagination. A developer can sit in front of a computer and build something that helps another person somewhere else in the world. I always thought there was something beautiful about that.

某一刻，我靠在椅背上问自己：“我是不是选错了追梦的时机？”问自己这个问题并不容易。当我最初对编程产生兴趣时，我并没有考虑金钱、远程办公或获得成功。真正吸引我的是，人们竟然可以凭空创造出东西。开发者可以坐在电脑前，构建出能够帮助世界另一端某人的事物。我一直觉得这其中有一种美感。

I still remember the first time I wrote a program that actually worked. It was nothing special, and if I saw that code today, I would probably laugh. But at that moment, it felt like magic. For the first time, I wasn’t only using technology—I was creating it. That feeling is still with me today.

我依然记得第一次写出能运行的程序时的情景。那没什么特别的，如果今天再看那段代码，我可能会笑出来。但在那一刻，它感觉就像魔法一样。我第一次不再仅仅是使用技术，而是在创造技术。那种感觉至今仍伴随着我。

Over the years, I spent a lot more time learning than I expected. Sometimes I went to sleep thinking about a bug and woke up with an idea for the solution. Sometimes I forgot about time because I enjoyed building something so much. There is a special feeling when you finally solve a problem that seemed impossible before.

这些年来，我花在学习上的时间比预想的要多得多。有时我带着对某个 Bug 的思考入睡，醒来时就有了解决方案。有时我因为太享受构建的过程而忘记了时间。当你最终解决了一个曾经看似不可能的问题时，那种感觉非常特别。

But this journey has not been easy. Many times, I felt like I was standing in the same place while everyone else was moving forward. I would open LinkedIn or other social media and see people sharing their new jobs, promotions, and achievements while I was still trying to find my first real opportunity in the industry.

但这段旅程并不轻松。很多时候，我感觉自己停滞不前，而其他人都在大步向前。我会打开 LinkedIn 或其他社交媒体，看到人们分享着新工作、晋升和成就，而我还在努力寻找进入这个行业的第一份真正机会。

And then AI became impossible to ignore. Suddenly, many people started asking if developers would still be needed in the future. Every week, there is another article or video talking about AI replacing jobs. For someone who is still trying to start a career in tech, it can feel very discouraging. There were many nights when I asked myself if I spent years learning something that might change before I even have the chance to work in this field.

接着，AI 变得无法忽视。突然间，许多人开始质疑未来是否还需要开发者。每周都有文章或视频在讨论 AI 取代工作岗位。对于一个还在努力开启科技职业生涯的人来说，这让人感到非常沮丧。有很多个夜晚，我都在问自己：我是否花费了数年时间去学习某样东西，而它可能在我还没机会入行之前就已经变了。

But every time I think about giving up, I remember that programming was never only about finding a job for me. I simply enjoy building things. I enjoy learning new technologies. I enjoy solving problems. I enjoy becoming a little better than I was yesterday. AI may change many things, but it cannot replace curiosity. It cannot replace the feeling of solving a difficult problem after many hours. And it cannot replace the dreams that people have.

但每当我想要放弃时，我都会提醒自己，编程对我来说从来不仅仅是为了找工作。我单纯地享受构建事物的过程。我享受学习新技术，享受解决问题，享受让自己比昨天进步一点点。AI 可能会改变很多事情，但它无法取代好奇心。它无法取代经过数小时努力解决难题后的那种成就感。它也无法取代人们心中的梦想。

So, I decided to accept the uncertainty. I don’t know what this industry will look like in ten years. I don’t know how many applications I will send before someone gives me a chance. I don’t know how many times I will doubt myself before I finally feel that I belong here. But I know one thing. Tomorrow morning, I will sit in front of my computer again. I will continue building projects. I will continue learning. I will continue trying, even on days when it feels difficult.

因此，我决定接受这种不确定性。我不知道十年后的这个行业会是什么样子。我不知道还要投递多少份简历才能获得机会。我不知道在最终感到归属感之前，我还会怀疑自己多少次。但我知道一件事：明天早上，我依然会坐在电脑前。我会继续构建项目，继续学习。即使在感到困难的日子里，我也会继续尝试。

Because dreams do not always come when we expect them to. And maybe that is okay. Maybe one day I will look back at these years and realize that they were not the years when I was falling behind. Maybe they were the years that taught me how to keep going. If you have ever felt uncertain about your future in tech, I would really like to hear your story. Sometimes, knowing that we are not alone makes a big difference.

因为梦想并不总是如期而至。也许这也没关系。也许有一天，当我回首这些年，我会意识到这些年并不是我落后的岁月，而是教会我如何坚持下去的岁月。如果你也曾对自己的科技职业前景感到迷茫，我非常希望能听到你的故事。有时候，知道自己并不孤单，意义重大。