How It Started

In 2020, live music was at a standstill in New York City.

On a surface level, I started learning about SwiftUI because I was pretty bored. I was curious about making a drum practice app and I wanted a glimpse into what app development felt like, in case I wanted to collaborate with a developer someday.

On a deeper level, it was indefinite curtains (pun intended) on my one, specialized, geographically-specific industry, so in addition to everything going on globally, needless to say it was an incredibly scary time. It felt like a very real possibility that everything I had worked towards professionally was a closed chapter.

With SwiftUI, I found a doorway to somewhere new that was not only much more in my control, but made me believe that if I needed to pivot for my livelihood’s sake, I had something. Something FUN! Learning SwiftUI gave me a sense of dignity and happiness at a time when those feelings were in short supply.

How It’s Going

Over the next three years, I tinkered with half a dozen apps, including a grocery home inventory app, a meditation app for my husband, and a category sorting game (cough, NYT Connections cough) inspired by the Great British Quizzing Show (not its real name, it’s actually called Only Connect).

I’m on track to make my first release in the App Store this year, and have started speaking at iOS developer conferences, which has been an incredibly fun way to learn a lot quickly and share it with the rich and generous iOS community.

I’m also proud to say that I built this website myself using Ignite!

In the meantime, the Broadway industry did reopen, and fortunately my music career is alive and well. I’ve been back to work for two years and enjoy programming in my free time.