I remember the childhood dread, a rock in my belly, during the hours leading up to an in-class writing assignment. My teacher would distribute the clean white sheets of paper and number two pencils, then share the prompt.

We waited for the second hand to return to the twelve so there would be no dispute over pencils down when the hour was up. This is when the dread would expand into overwhelm.

"You may begin," she said, as the tension broke and everyone began to write.

Everyone, but me.

It wasn't the absence of ideas that kept my pencil from making contact with the page. Instead, it was a raging flood of ideas, held back by a wall of fear, determined to get out.

Eventually, the pressure of the clock would force me to pick one. I'd let the stream of thought flow onto the page, doing my best to keep my left hand from smudging the pencil lead off the page. Writing my "In conclusion," as the second hand arrived at the twelve, another hour added to its life.

Decades later, I continue to struggle with writing. That is why I am here.

My confidence has been boosted by my recent exploration into the world of AI and machine learning. It has allowed me a way to make sense of the flood of ideas in my brain, and I want to share them with you.

More personal work will live here, and more technical/professional writing will be on my Substack: A Human in the Loop.

Thank you for supporting my writing!

If you're curious about what else I am up to, you can find out here!