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    <title>Forem: Brenda Michelle</title>
    <description>The latest articles on Forem by Brenda Michelle (@brendamichellle).</description>
    <link>https://forem.com/brendamichellle</link>
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      <title>Forem: Brenda Michelle</title>
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      <title>Digital planning for productivity in 2024</title>
      <dc:creator>Brenda Michelle</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jan 2024 14:00:57 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/digital-planning-for-productivity-in-2024-1bhj</link>
      <guid>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/digital-planning-for-productivity-in-2024-1bhj</guid>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;If you are looking for affordable planners and journals to stay productive in 2024 here are some options. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://brendamichelle.gumroad.com/"&gt;Digital Planners and Templates DOWNLOAD&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/practicaldev/image/fetch/s--Aw2iCI37--/c_limit%2Cf_auto%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto%2Cw_800/https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/xesyav34rhioshxprukf.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"&gt;&lt;img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/practicaldev/image/fetch/s--Aw2iCI37--/c_limit%2Cf_auto%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto%2Cw_800/https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/xesyav34rhioshxprukf.png" alt="Image description" width="800" height="385"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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      <title>How I Organize My Calendar as a Freelance Software Developer 2024</title>
      <dc:creator>Brenda Michelle</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 Dec 2023 00:40:46 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/how-i-organize-my-calendar-as-a-freelance-software-developer-2024-33pe</link>
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          How I Organize My Calendar 2024 | Productivity &amp;amp; Less Stress #productivity #intentionalliving - YouTube
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        &lt;p class="truncate-at-3"&gt;
          How I organize my calendar for 2024 with Google Calendar for MAX productivity and Less Stress! --------------------------------------------------------------...
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      <category>beginners</category>
      <category>productivity</category>
      <category>codenewbie</category>
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    <item>
      <title>What they DO NOT Tell you about Freelancing as a Web Developer</title>
      <dc:creator>Brenda Michelle</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 18 Dec 2023 15:54:20 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/what-they-do-not-tell-you-about-freelancing-as-a-web-developer-mmi</link>
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          What they DO NOT Tell you about freelancing as a web developer #freelancer  #webdeveloper #coding - YouTube
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        &lt;p class="truncate-at-3"&gt;
          What they DO NOT Tell you about freelancing as a web developer---------------------------------------------------------------------------Let me know in the c...
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</description>
      <category>codenewbie</category>
      <category>webdev</category>
      <category>javascript</category>
      <category>programming</category>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Realistic Day In The Life Freelance Web Developer</title>
      <dc:creator>Brenda Michelle</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 15 Dec 2023 07:59:52 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/realistic-day-in-the-life-freelance-web-developer-30m4</link>
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</description>
      <category>webdev</category>
      <category>beginners</category>
      <category>codenewbie</category>
      <category>javascript</category>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>How I Would Break Into Tech in 2024</title>
      <dc:creator>Brenda Michelle</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 08 Dec 2023 15:17:22 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/how-i-would-break-into-tech-in-2024-3d2j</link>
      <guid>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/how-i-would-break-into-tech-in-2024-3d2j</guid>
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&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
      <category>webdev</category>
      <category>programming</category>
      <category>beginners</category>
      <category>codenewbie</category>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Productive WFH Vlog * Software Developer {Work Life Balance}</title>
      <dc:creator>Brenda Michelle</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 Nov 2023 15:35:09 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/productive-wfh-vlog-software-developer-work-life-balance-583</link>
      <guid>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/productive-wfh-vlog-software-developer-work-life-balance-583</guid>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe width="710" height="399" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P9S39xduQZU?start=10"&gt;
&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
      <category>webdev</category>
      <category>programming</category>
      <category>productivity</category>
      <category>career</category>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>6 AM Morning Routine Freelance Software Developer</title>
      <dc:creator>Brenda Michelle</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 23 Nov 2023 22:52:51 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/6-am-morning-routine-freelance-software-developer-1je3</link>
      <guid>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/6-am-morning-routine-freelance-software-developer-1je3</guid>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe width="710" height="399" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/neYPq3Asr1k"&gt;
&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
      <category>webdev</category>
      <category>beginners</category>
      <category>programming</category>
      <category>productivity</category>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>How to Start Freelancing For Beginners - Starting from 0</title>
      <dc:creator>Brenda Michelle</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 15 Nov 2023 13:32:02 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/how-to-start-freelancing-top-tips-for-beginners-2f59</link>
      <guid>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/how-to-start-freelancing-top-tips-for-beginners-2f59</guid>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe width="710" height="399" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vNTCInwANjg?start=10"&gt;
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&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
      <category>beginners</category>
      <category>webdev</category>
      <category>programming</category>
      <category>javascript</category>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Realistic Day In The Life of a Remote Software Developer</title>
      <dc:creator>Brenda Michelle</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 09 Nov 2023 21:07:21 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/realistic-day-in-the-life-of-a-remote-software-developer-3054</link>
      <guid>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/realistic-day-in-the-life-of-a-remote-software-developer-3054</guid>
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&lt;/iframe&gt;
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</description>
      <category>programming</category>
      <category>productivity</category>
      <category>coding</category>
      <category>vscode</category>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Learning How To Code | Lessons I have learned</title>
      <dc:creator>Brenda Michelle</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 01 Mar 2023 11:02:53 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/learning-how-to-code-lessons-i-have-learned-54mg</link>
      <guid>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/learning-how-to-code-lessons-i-have-learned-54mg</guid>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;These are some of the lessons I learned while self-learning how to code. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe width="710" height="399" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zmoNXe9g5ew"&gt;
&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
      <category>codenewbie</category>
      <category>beginners</category>
      <category>webdev</category>
      <category>javascript</category>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Freelancing Vs Independent contracting as a web developer</title>
      <dc:creator>Brenda Michelle</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2023 15:02:45 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/freelancing-vs-independent-contracting-as-a-web-developer-4m2c</link>
      <guid>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/freelancing-vs-independent-contracting-as-a-web-developer-4m2c</guid>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Freelancing vs independent contracting as a web developer. What are the differences and which should you do? Check out my newest Youtube video to know more!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe width="710" height="399" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XQM9peugi4Y"&gt;
&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;

</description>
      <category>discuss</category>
      <category>career</category>
      <category>opensource</category>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Nevertheless She Coded: Brenda Michelle mom of 3 breaking into tech</title>
      <dc:creator>Brenda Michelle</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 08 Mar 2021 16:08:58 +0000</pubDate>
      <link>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/nevertheless-she-coded-brenda-michelle-mom-of-3-breaking-into-tech-2984</link>
      <guid>https://forem.com/brendamichellle/nevertheless-she-coded-brenda-michelle-mom-of-3-breaking-into-tech-2984</guid>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;My story&lt;br&gt;
  Imposter Syndrome &lt;br&gt;
  #ChooseToChallenge&lt;br&gt;
  My Advice  &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  My Story
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I still consider myself a beginner but I wanted to share my story and how I #ChooseToChallenge myself this 2021. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I will start at the beginning. No, I did not start to code when I was 17 if I am being honest I did not even know that computer science was a thing or that you could make money building websites. I wanted to go to UCLA and become a lawyer. I attended UCLA graduated in 2015 with a B.A. in Sociology ended up traveling and teaching for 5 years.  &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;It wasn’t until about 2 years ago that I wanted to start blogging and was struggling with customizing my WordPress website that I stumbled upon coding. It intrigued me and I went down the Google rabbit hole. I decided to start learning HTML and CSS in hopes of customizing my own site. The more I learned the more I discovered and really began to love coding.  &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  Imposter Syndrome
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Imposter syndrome hit and I gave up for a few months. I was trying to memorize everything and did not understand how everyone could just code off the top of their heads. Little did I know that all developers Google and do not have every syntax etc. memorized. I was not active at all in the developer community. I did not know about the Twitter Dev community or the dev community on Instagram and youtube and every other social platform. I slowly started to discover developers on Twitter and that is how I ran into dev.to.  &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;On Twitter, I learned that there are so many self-taught developers and that there are many womxn who code. Joining Dev communities boosted my confidence and motivation and I decided to 100% commit myself to learn how to code.  I have learned so much in a matter of months, more than I learned in my 4 years at UCLA. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I grew up in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Los Angeles to 2 hard-working immigrant parents. I never imagined that I could learn anything related to STEM let alone consider having a career in STEM. However, everything seems possible now.  &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Although I feel more confident about my future in STEM I still deal with imposter syndrome. Being a self-taught woman and mother of 3 trying to break into tech is not a walk in the park. I feel like I constantly need to prove my worth and what I am capable of. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
   #ChooseToChallenge 
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I challenge myself and other women to break into STEM industries. &lt;br&gt;
I challenge all to encourage women to pursue their dreams and fight for what they want.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I will break into tech. &lt;br&gt;
I will be a full stack developer. &lt;br&gt;
I will work at a company that provides learning possibilities, encourages continuous growth, and is committed to diversifying the tech industry. &lt;br&gt;
I will work hard every day to encourage and advocate for other women, more specifically women of color in tech.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;
  
  
  My Advice  
&lt;/h2&gt;

&lt;p&gt;My advice to other women interested in breaking into the tech industry:  &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;Join a community and find people that are on your same journey. Having other women to lean on and relate to can help you out a lot especially when you’re dealing with burnout and imposter syndrome.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;Take a break and don’t feel like you always need to be studying and learning. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;Do not compare yourself to others. Look at your own path and what you have achieved. Compare where you started to where you are. Breaking into tech is a marathon, not a sprint. You got it! &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;

</description>
      <category>wecoded</category>
      <category>womenintech</category>
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