There’s this weird phenomenon that goes hand-in-hand with learning to program for a lot of people. You listen to a lecture or you read a lesson and you think to yourself - “Wow! That totally makes sense!”.
Then you’re on your own to complete an assignment or project and suddenly…
Some would say it comes along like a phantom, a menace to every ounce of your self-confidence.
I feel like this happens to me every couple of lessons. I’m doing everything I can, taking notes, coding along with the lesson, using The Force. Then, somehow, when I’m confronted with the task in front of me, it’s like someone has Jedi-mind-tricked all the material I just learned right out of my head. While I still struggle, I wanted to share some thoughts that help me through those periods of self doubt.
Even when you don’t think you’re learning- you are!
Today I was working on a lab that I was really, really stuck on. I spent the better half of an entire day trying to figure out why my code wasn’t working. I googled and googled and googled, told myself I wasn’t cut out for this, took a break, then googled some more. I finally decided that I should ask for help (which I definitely should have done sooner) and was able to figure it out with the help of two amazing technical coaches. Once the lab was finished, I started on the next one and promised myself that I was going to write as much of the code as I possibly could before I consulted good old friend, Google. Surprisingly, I was able to get through 90% (with passing tests!) of the first part of the lab. Even if you only learn one small thing today- you already know more than you did yesterday, and that’s progress.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
For some crazy reason, there seems to be a stigma around asking for help. Fight through it! If you’re stuck on a problem, it’s better to ask for help than to just keep changing random parts of your code, hoping it works, and not really understanding why it does or doesn’t. Even with having taken a computer science course before I started this bootcamp, I still have trouble wrapping my head around some topics. Sometimes you need another set of eyes who can see things you may miss. Debug as much as you can, but don’t get caught up in a fear of asking for help if you need it.
Be patient - comparison is a thief of joy
A popular ice-breaker question is usually something along the lines of “If you could have one superpower, what would it be?”. My answer is always the same… I wish I could just put my head on my book (or a book on my head, either way) and automatically absorb all the knowledge in that book. Wouldn’t that be so cool? Unfortunately, I haven’t miraculously discovered that superpower yet. So I’ll just have to resort to studying the good old-fashioned way! The vast majority of people aren’t experts their first try at something new. It’s important to refrain comparing your progress to your coworkers/cohort/peers, and instead compare yourself to the you from yesterday, a week ago, a month ago. While I currently feel comfortable with classes, instances, class/instance methods and variables, I had no idea what object-oriented programming was three weeks ago. Be proud!
Don’t be afraid of making mistakes
More than anything else, this is the one I struggle with the most. I think struggling on one lab means I’m not cut out for programming. I think that if I can’t wrap my head around an idea the first go-round this means I’m destined for failure. Once you’re in this mindset it’s heard to break out of. Frustration is the fuel to this fire. Whenever I find myself heading towards the dark side, I find that’s when I most need a break. I take a walk, do some cleaning or cooking, play some Ring-Fit Adventure… then come back with a fresh mind.
If you’re currently struggling with this, feeling like you’re not good enough, stick it out. I know, it’s so much easier said than done… but one lesson, lab, or module doesn’t dictate your capability to see it through. Keep going!
I’ll leave with this nugget of wisdom from a wise Jedi Master:
