traceroute -f 46 new.life

Namaste. Welcome to my digital space. This first post feels both daunting and exciting to write, as it marks the beginning of what I hope will be a meaningful documentation of personal and professional transformation.

I’m 46 years old, a father to four children and stepfather to two more. Our household is wonderfully chaotic, filled with the energy and challenges that come with herding cats…I mean, teenagers. I’m also autistic, For 17 years I was on Social Security Disability and worked with Vocational Rehab to eventually transition back to the workforce full time. I also love nerding out on random historical facts and relating them to the present. Today, I find myself in a completely different place, ready to embark on an educational journey I once thought was impossible.

Computers have been a passion for me since childhood. I was online in the early 1990s, first with Prodigy and then Aol. Everyone remembers Aol. Even during my most difficult years, that passion for computing never truly disappeared—it simply waited patiently in the background.

After years away from formal education, I’m returning to school to complete my associate’s degree in computer networking. This isn’t where my journey ends, though. I plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, followed by a master’s degree in artificial intelligence. Each step represents not just academic achievement, but a reclamation of dreams and potential I thought I had lost.

This blog will serve as both an outlet for self-expression and a record of this transformative period in my life. I’ve always processed the world differently, and writing helps me organize my thoughts and experiences in ways that make sense to me. More than that, I want to document this journey authentically, the struggles alongside the victories, the late nights studying until 2 AM while managing family responsibilities like making gumbo and complaining about it being too hot to cut the grass, and the gradual rebuilding of confidence that comes with pursuing meaningful goals.

Perhaps my story will resonate with others who are starting over later in life, or those navigating their own unique paths in technology. There’s something powerful about sharing these experiences, about making visible the often invisible work of personal transformation.

As I progress through my studies in networking, cybersecurity, and eventually artificial intelligence, I’ll be sharing insights from the perspective of someone returning to academia after significant life challenges. I’ll write about technical concepts as I learn them, discuss resources that prove helpful, and reflect on the experience of balancing rigorous academic work with family life.

This journey represents more than career preparation. It’s about proving to myself that it’s never too late to pursue your passion, that being different doesn’t have to define your limitations, and that sometimes the most meaningful chapters of our lives begin when we thought the dust had settled.

To anyone reading this who might be considering their own major life change or educational journey, I hope my experiences provide encouragement and empowerment. We can usually do a whole lot more than we give ourselves credit for, especially when we put our heart into what truly matters to us.

The adventure begins now, and I’m grateful you’re here to witness it.