I'm Julian Houston

I'm a software engineer with 3 years of industry experience — though I didn't fully realize my passion for this work until recently. My journey into engineering has been anything but smooth. It's been marked by struggle, uncertainty, and yet a relentless drive to keep going. Through it all, I've stayed resilient, creative, curious, and self-motivated.

I had an unspoken connection to both art and technology before I knew it. As a kid, I spent a lot of my time drawing, painting, and gaming as hobbies. For me, games specifically were a medium for storytelling, exploration, and even education. I was fascinated by their influence and the experiences they created, but the idea of learning how software contributed to these moments felt completely out of reach. I didn't grow up with access to the tools or resources to explore those curiosities. As a result, for a long time they simply lived in my imagination.

That changed at Howard University, where I came across a silly animated short — Killer Bean. It reignited something unexpected in me which led me to diving into 3D design, spending hours on a sucky laptop learning Blender. That hands-on creation process brought me back to the curiosity I had as a kid. I then knew I wanted to do more than design visuals — I wanted to bring them to life. So I started learning full-stack development on Codecademy. I also eventually switched majors and graduated with a degree in Computer Information Systems.

I'm still early in my career, and still figuring out exactly where I want to take it. The path hasn't always been clear, and rejection has often made it feel uncertain. But I've learned that uncertainty doesn't erase purpose — it just reshapes it. What I do know is that I still find joy in building, in exploring new ideas, in crafting experiences that feel alive and worthwhile and in connecting with others.

I bring the same mindset I always have in my work: curiosity, care, and craftsmanship.