So, who is Mr Soderman?

I’m in a reflective mood today, so this is a longer story. If you feel like it, grab a coffee and come along.

To start off, I am a curious soul, a lifelong learner, and a programmer from Sweden. Life’s challenges have taught me to always stay present and appreciate the small, fleeting moments because, sometimes that’s all we have.

Living with social anxiety, autistic traits, and as a Highly Sensitive Person meant that studying, working, and what people usually call a normal life unfolded differently for me. It made things very tricky at times and extremely isolating. I am forever grateful for the good people that supported me and made all the difference. Going through all of that shaped how I see the world. It taught me empathy, strength, patience, and understanding.

Not long after, I traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where I discovered a simpler, richer way of life unlike anything I’d known before. People lived with less rush and more connection to one another. They helped each other, no matter who they were, and there was a strong sense of kindness and warmth.

I saw people of different backgrounds show respect and love for one another, for example by helping to build each other’s places of faith. What stayed with me most was how people gave away things they still liked and used, not just things they didn’t need anymore. Even simple things like clothes were shared in a way that showed real sacrifice and care.

Seeing people give what little they had, even things they valued, made me understand generosity more deeply and what truly matters.

The Art of True Connection

That experience changed how I see community. I realized that sharing is not only about giving away what we do not need, but also about giving what we still value. I saw people helping each other by contributing with their time, effort, belongings and resources to make meaningful things possible for others.

It showed me how much people can affect each other’s lives. Help often happens without being planned or requested, simply because someone notices a need and steps in.

This matters because people often struggle to ask for help or explain their situation.

True connection means not remaining a silent bystander when support is needed. It means acting when systems are too slow or when people are left at risk. It also made me understand that true community is built on shared responsibility.

Turning Lessons Into Action

I also realized this applied to me personally. The same kind of internal work had to happen within myself, and that was when I began living more fully. I started facing things I had been avoiding. I went through difficult jaw surgery, returned to school, got a job coach, and began studying life sciences to become a pharmaceutical operator. I wanted to focus on the positive parts of the field, like using bioinformatics to help reduce animal testing.

But things don’t always go as planned. COVID-19 happened, and I eventually became completely burned out. I realized I couldn’t continue as before. That burnout was my second turning point. I stopped and asked myself: how can I build a career that fits my core passions and the way my mind works?

The Core of It All

To understand what I wanted to do, I looked at what makes me feel happy and alive. 🐺 Animals have always meant a lot to me, which is what first drew me toward bioinformatics. 🎵 Music has been with me for as long as I can remember. I’ve played piano since I was 8 and use it to express things I can’t put into words. I love ✨ creating and experimenting, expressing myself in different ways. I especially enjoy turning ideas into something real. I’ve always enjoyed 🥗 cooking and trying out baking recipes since I was a kid. To stay grounded, I spend time in 🌱 nature, exercise, watching films, reading, and learning about different cultures and languages.

Digital Journey

Ever since I was a kid, I have been fascinated by computers; I just always loved figuring things out and making stuff. My mind loves to create, feel, and imagine, but it also loves to think, analyze, and solve problems. 🧠 Programming became the early outlet for that.

I spent years writing code on paper before I could even afford a computer. This meant that for the first year or so I could only test my code now and then at a friend’s house, but that way I had to think carefully about everything I did.

What I liked about programming is that it feels limitless, and I still carry that sense of wonder. Back then, a simple manual could explain an entire system, but today’s technology is wrapped in layers of complexity. That said, you don’t need to know everything to build useful software, but going deeper often changes what you’re able to create.

Over time, I’ve also become more aware of how these systems impact the world around us!

Why I Created This Space

Programming today is about more than just writing code; it’s about how those systems fit into the bigger picture. I started this blog because I want to explore both the incredible opportunities and the real risks of technology. Technology isn’t separate from the world, it shapes it.

Technology is a double-edged sword and tools like AI and the internet can influence us in ways we’re only beginning to understand. It’s too easy to abuse these tools just to ‘win’ rather than using them to help everyone grow. We have a responsibility to one another, as it is far too easy to exploit people and our common resources.

Through my own experiences with disabilities, I have become deeply involved in standing up against bullying and discrimination. Fairness, social justice, and animal welfare aren’t just causes to me; they are the foundation of how I try to live and work.

I’ve learned that when people are healthy and supported, success naturally follows; it rarely works the other way around. You simply cannot build a stable society by chasing success first and hoping well-being comes later. This is not about buying health or comfort. Those things already depend on what resources people have, so they cannot be the base of real growth.

For me, real progress is like a healthy relationship; it’s a two-way street where everything affects everything else.

We need to share our responsibility and resources so that everyone grows, not just a few individuals. And just as we help each other grow by sharing our lives, we must solve problems by understanding how the tiny details and the big picture always shape each other. If we rush to provide answers without grasping how every part relates to the whole, we only create more problems.

I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve learned that it’s worth taking the time to truly understand a problem before trying to solve it. For me, it’s about becoming better at finding and understanding problems before I try to solve them. I view the world like a massive puzzle: if we only focus on our own tiny piece and ignore how it fits with the rest, we miss the full picture and it will never be finished.

Alright, enough of that – let’s get to the fun! 🚀

☕ Goodbye Hello!