What I have learned After Coding For 35 days
Today makes it 35 days since I started learning front-end development on Scrimba. What I have learned within that period is that:
1. Coding isn’t easy nor hard: I started fairly well with basic HTML and CSS. The first few lessons were so enjoyable that I thought anyone with a working brain should be able to code. But I got a reality check when I started javascript, and the numerous concept I had to learn overwhelmed me.
I still think anyone can code, but you have to be committed to learning to overcome the tough days.
2. Make it work simple, then make it work better: if you’re familiar with startup lingos like me, you’d know what MVP is. I have never taken making a concept work before making it work better seriously than I did when I started front-end development.
Trying to make a project have all the features you dream of from the get-go will drain your motivation faster than working on stuff slowly and iterating every day. You have to ship codes first, then make the code better.
I am taking this concept with me and applying it to every aspect of my life. Henceforth, I will first aim for minimum returns and then make maximum value from whatever I am investing my time, money, and effort into.
3. It’s okay not to understand everything: One of the problems of learning is the inability of a learner to accept that they won’t commit every concept to memory as soon as they learn them. You will struggle with codes, don’t let the fact that you need to relearn things break you.
I can’t count the number of times I have gone back to check previous javascript lessons because I forgot the implementation of certain concepts. That is not something easy to do. You will feel stuck and miserable, but it is what you have to do if you want to learn how to code.
4. Coding should be handled like a marathon and not a sprint: I advise that you set goals and attach them to a time frame. However, being strict to time will frustrate you if you do not easily understand a particular concept.
I have read stories of people shipping products after a month or two of their first coding lessons, and I have read that of people who were able to write a functional codebase after six months. The bottom line is that they both shipped irrespective of how long or short it took them to do that.
I’m taking it slow and steady. If what I could ship after 35 days are https://people-counter.vercel.app/ and a google chrome extension that lets me save website links for future use, I am okay with my progress.
The next thing on my roadmap is to learn #reactjs. I have started already and hope to be able to accomplish my mission for front-end development soon. Let me remind you that I aspire to be a full-stack web3 developer and am already proficient in coding #solidity.
