My Career Changed on a Water Slide

There's a water slide at a local resort where my career changed.

At the end of 2013, I wrote my first React component.
It got 86'd in code review but it was clear that React was the future I wanted.

So, that spring — on a weekend vacation — I read the React docs on my phone while Rock went up and down a children's water slide a hundred times.

He didn't mind me ignoring him and I didn't mind him splashing my every 45 seconds.

I had no idea how that hour would direct my next five years.

The company I work for ended up writing a React app.
The lessons I learned turned into a bunch of resources, a few conference talks, and then React Podcast.

5 1/2 years later, I'm at JSConf US watching Ruby go down the same slide a hundred times.
This time I'm actually watching — grateful and nostalgic for all the people I've met and moments we've shared.

🥰 chan

Question:
What have your big career moments been?
Did they catch you by surprise?