Uniqueness

Unique.

Something we are told we all are.

We each have unique personalities, unique looks, unique names.

But are we really unique?

Our personalities? There's going to be at least someone who has a personality like yours. There's going to another person who has a sunny or bubbly or sarcastic personality. I mean, there are, what? About 7 billion people on this planet? It's really likely that someone else is like you.

Our looks. Are they unique? Or do we still use it to blend in? There are a lot of people out there with brown hair. Brown eyes. Brown skin. There are a bunch of people who are tall and short. In a crowd of people, I wouldn't stand out.

And anyway, it's said that every one of us has a doppelganger. Someone who looks exactly like you.

And our names. Our precious names. The thing that we call ourselves. The one we tell people to call us. They aren't unique. Not really. Since there are people out there, in the world, who have the same name as you. Your parents got your name from somewhere, right?

So what is unique? Does it exist in all of us? Or is uniqueness only found in the extraordinary people in our world?

I believe that we are all unique. But not by what we can and love to do. Not by our names and our looks.

But I believe that the stories behind those things are unique.

Me and knowing how to code and use computers makes me unique.

I've always loved computers. I wanted to know how they work. I wanted to know how to make my own games.

I loved the world of computers from a young age.

When I was in first grade, my parents put me in my first computer class. It was once a week for about 10 weeks. We didn't learn about coding and things like that. Just the basic parts of the computer. Like what the monitor was. And how the keyboard works.

I loved computers from way back then.

The next class I was able to attend was in fourth grade. We learned how to type with both hands and we learned how to use Microsoft Word and all that. I had a few friends in that class, yet none seemed interested in the topic.

There were several courses I was able to attend after that one. Over the years, I learned how to code HTML, Python, JavaScript and I can even program robots.

As I got older, in each new course, there were fewer and fewer girls in each class. In some of them, I had no friends from my school. It even got to the point where I was one of only two girls there.

Some people considered me as a geek. A nerd. Some people thought that girls can't code.

Yet I'm a girl.

And I can code.

And I'm proud of that.