Sometimes life is really hard, and it pulls you forward from other friends, well In this case he was pulled away from our common path

Ethical hacking group

Ruben was a good friend of mine. We met for the first time in a class that I was co-coordinating with a friend of ours, it was about ethical hacking. For the first few months lessons were in a garage and there were fewer than 10 people in this room with tables and chairs from a dump that we cleaned and restored somehow.

There we were peers at the same level, both of us learning about cybersecurity and hacking. We had such a fun time back there. Then we moved to a much better location with better equipment, the MakeIt structure where I participated in the Game Jam a few months ago. There we had whiteboards, normal chairs and tables, and even a large TV to share the screen of the PC.

At the time we were starting to become actual friends sharing jokes and memes about hacking and programming, all the shyness was gone.

Then at MakeIt, I started to teach a few lessons about REST API, CRUD operations and some other tech-related subjects. After that something changed and we started to talk more, via messages or Instagram sharing knowledge and plans for the future.

Even if we were of the same age he was starting the first year at the University and I was still in high school. Due to some fractures and people who moved to other cities, we quit the ethical hacking group, but we kept in touch, sharing memes and opinions about one common technology we were studying VueJs. You should know that I'm a pretty prickly person, and he loved to make jokes about my beloved Javascript language.

Different paths

At the end of my last high school year, things started to change. I was intoxicated from a bad relationship and also pretty stressed from work, so we started to get in touch less and less. Then I quit my relationship and jumped on another while I was starting university. So due to lessons and exams, I neglected my friendship with Ruben. Then COVID and two years pass like they never arrived.

Last meeting

Our Last meeting was just by chance at the local bowling alley, and we talked a lot about work, technologies, opportunities and plans for the future.

Two years after that event, Ruben was conquering the world, taking any chance he got, starting projects, and participating in events. He was going to start an Erasmus trip to one of the top 10 universities in Europe.

One month after our last talk on WhatsApp, it was all gone. Ruben died of a heart attack during a festival in the Netherlands.

Like sucks.

Things I learned from Ruben

Always stay connected with your friends, whether it's through memes, words of encouragement, or just a genuine interest in their lives.

Let your passion be your driving force. During a conversation with him, I rediscovered my deep love for discussing the intricacies of computer science and technology. The thrill of engaging in captivating discussions in this field sent shivers down my spine.

But perhaps the most valuable lesson I gleaned from Ruben is this: You'll never succeed if you don't take a chance. Ruben never turned down a new opportunity or experience, and that's something worth emulating.

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Thanks, my dear friend, for everything you taught me and everything you meant to me. I wish you a good rest.