Finding My Path

Recently I had been working on learning JavaScript but was struggling to put everything together. Part of the problem is that I have very limited time for studying, what with working a full-time job and family life. I recognize the importance of JavaScript in today’s online world. I know that if I kept putting in the time and practicing that eventually things would start to click for me.

But my learning time started to turn into me being unexcited in sitting down to study. Learning JavaScript suddenly started to feel like a chore. The fun I had been experiencing with learning was fading. The whole point of me pursuing a career change was to find something were I could enjoy working. So, I put JavaScript to the back burner and decided to explore some other options.

A new path is born

I was drawn to web development as a career choice because I liked the idea of getting to build visual pleasing websites. I settled on pursuing development thinking that the design aspect was out of my realm. But you know what? That type of thinking held me back. If I can learn web development (which I do enjoy), why can’t I also learn web design?

A friend of mine that I meet on Twitter ( Gabe!!) ended up on this same type of path as I. He recommended a course he was taking and mentioned that I should check it out. It’s a course over on Udemy, by Vako Shvili, called “Complete Web Design: from Figma to Webflow to Freelancing”. The course focuses on learning web design basics, while also learning how to design within Figma, and then develop with Webflow (I’m not going to get into the details of what Figma and Webflow do, but if you’d like to learn more click the links).

By the time I had completed the first section of the course, I was hooked on web design. It just scratched that itch in my brain. I just never thought I’d be able to do design. I can’t draw. I’m not an “artist”. That’s the beauty of it though. Just like you can learn how to code, you can learn how to design. There are rules to follow, best practices if you will, just like in development. The overall point I’m trying to make is that sometimes you need to push outside of your comfort zone. This is how growth happens. I’m glad I pushed. The path I’m on now feels like the right path.

Where’s this path going?

My end goal now is to eventually be a full-time freelancer as a web designer/developer. The choice to decide on freelancing could be an entire blog post in itself, but for me it’s alluring. At this point in my life I’m more inclined to work for myself. I know it won’t be easy and it’s not without its challenges, but for me the positives outweigh the negatives. I want that freedom and this path I’ve set before me is the way I am going to achieve my new goal.