Back in March 2017 iDownloadBlog linked to my iOS 11 lock screen concept and credited me as “app developer Matt Birchler.” The identification as an app developer threw me a little at the time. It was clear the author if the iDB piece didn’t know me personally, but after reviewing my internet profile to whatever extent, they determined me to be a developer.

I don’t blame them at all. I was friends with developers, I’d dabbled in code, but I had never actually released an apps myself. I would not call myself a developer, that just wasn’t fair.

But I’d be lying to you if I didn’t at least partially enjoy the confusion. I have seen software development as a road I’ve been interested in exploring for a couple years now. I experimented in 2016 with a weather website (RIP), a credit card BIN search site, and a basic web interface for the iOS App Store. I guess those technically made me a developer, but these were not serious jobs, they were fun experiments that were mostly useful for developing my skills. With the release of Today’s Forecast through, I finally feel like the term “developer” can be used to describe myself. That’s kind of a huge deal for me personally, even if it means basically nothing to most everyone else in the world.

I write about this as a reminder that you can change who you are over time. 5 years ago I would not call myself a writer, but over 1,000 articles and hundreds of thousands of words later, I comfortably refer to myself as one. One year ago I would not have called myself a developer, but today I finally feel comfortable with the term. I have tons of growth to make in both areas, but I’m moving in the right direction.