Becoming
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is my all-time favorite TV show. I could spend an entire book explaining why, so I’ll try to be brief. I first watched it as a kid and then later as an adult. One of the most powerful scenes is when Buffy fights Angelus (the evil version of Angel, Buffy’s soulmate) in episode 22 of season 2, aptly titled "Becoming, Part 2."
There are many great aspects to this episode, but I'll focus on two: the episode’s name - Becoming - and the dialogue, especially when Angelus taunts Buffy: “No weapons... No friends… No hope. Take all that away, and what’s left?” Buffy’s response is simple: “Me.”
Knowing who you are is hard. Becoming who you are is harder. It took Buffy several seasons, filled with painful twists, battles, losses, and sacrifices, to truly become who she was meant to be. And to understand it and why. She managed to do it because she realized that she alone had the power to define who she was.
I’ve always known I wanted to be a writer at heart. Well, perhaps not before I learned to write, but as soon as I could, I knew that’s who I was meant to become. And I can’t separate my professional life - I would still be a writer even if it wasn’t how I make a living.
I was going to be a writer. I was already a writer. I started with small poems that I carried in my pocket. One day, I decided to pay attention to the news on TV and write it down from memory. Afterward, I went to my father’s office and stapled the pages together to create my very own newspaper. I even wrote about commercials - one news item covered a shampoo brand changing its name from Elseve to Elvive (or vice versa).
The Power of Instructions
As I progressed through school, I honed my writing skills, improving significantly by reading voraciously (being a '90s kid, I devoured all the Harry Potter books, of course). One of my early encounters with Technical Writing came unexpectedly. I received a toy that needed assembly, and, having no idea (or will) to put it together, I asked my father for help. He isn’t a handyman, so he simply said, “Read the instructions.” That was the first time I truly acknowledged the value of instructions.
Another significant moment came in 2005 when I was about to start high school. My course in Sciences and Technology required me to buy a graphical calculator (the same you see below; I still have it and it still works!).
My cousin, who is three years older than me, saw the calculator and told me it was capable of things far beyond what I could imagine. I asked her how she knew it. She told me: "I have a friend who also has that machine and he just read the instructions". This made me aware of the potential power of instructions, a realization that would shape my career.
Becoming a Technical Writer
Three years later, I finished high school, certain of my next step: college, specifically Journalism. I chose Journalism because it was a field that involved writing and had practical job prospects. I majored and earned a master’s degree in Science and Communication, specializing in Journalism.
Then an opportunity arose to work in tech, also involving writing. I took it. It was fulfilling but exhausting. I worked long hours, taking on every challenge I could find. But eventually, I needed a change. That’s when Technical Writing found me, through a job posting on LinkedIn, in 2019. I applied, not fully knowing what I was getting into. Then, I did what I always do when I want to learn something new: I read - a lot. It didn’t take long to realize that Technical Writing and Journalism share the same foundation: the pursuit of truth and the goal of helping the reader understand something clearly. I was hired for that Technical Writing position and stayed with the company for four years.
The idea of "Becoming" resonates deeply with both my personal journey and my professional path. Like Buffy, I’ve learned that becoming who you are takes time, effort, and a willingness to face challenges head-on. As Nietzsche said, “Become who you are”. It’s a journey you must take to truly live your life and know yourself, whether you’re slaying vampires or simply figuring out how to use a new piece of technology.