I Started Programming All Over Again…

How It Started

I started coding in 2020 at the age of 16, I began with the CS50 Introduction to Computer Science, the entire course took me about 2 months to complete, after I finished that I went full-on into Flutter App Development. This Is what I spent most of the year learning, I was very intrigued by how easy it was to create mobile applications with amazing UI with the framework. By the end of 2020, I was very good at the framework and could create amazing applications in a very short time. I was a Mobile App Developer… Or so I thought.

Then the next year, 2021 came, I had high hopes for this year, I had a very simple goal to learn flutter and get an internship, job with a start-up, or basically, anywhere that would enable me to have hands-on experience with the framework, that was the plan. But then…

My Laptop crashed, it simply stopped working, it was frustrating because I liked how efficiently the laptop could handle a lot of demanding tasks. So here I was with high goals, but without the means to achieve them. I was fortunate enough to get another laptop, but its specifications weren’t up to what was needed to develop mobile applications with flutter.

So here I was with a laptop that could program, but not what I wanted to program. This situation left me with two options, I could either decide that since I didn’t have a computer with which I could effectively code, I’d simply not program anymore, or I could suck it up and learn a different programming language. It’s a good thing I went with the second option.

The programming language I chose to learn was python. Its versatility and power fascinated me and I saw it fit to learn, so I learned it, I dedicated the next 8 months to learning the programming language, I learned almost all there was to learn… almost. I then went into learning its frameworks, I picked up Django at first, but after a month, I realized I wasn’t really into it, it felt too bloated for my liking. So I moved to learn Flask, fell in love with the framework, and built a bunch of things with it.

But something still felt off, I was making responsive, powerful web applications with a framework I want annoyed with, but I didn’t feel like I wanted to be with the framework for a very long time, I didn’t feel like I belonged to where I was.

Then towards the end of the year, I was fortunate to get my hands on a laptop that had powerful capabilities, well… Powerful is too strong of a word, but it could handle all my programming tasks effortlessly and much better than my previous computer. One way with which it outshone my previous laptop was that I could program with the flutter framework on the laptop. It was nice. So I decided to try coding with flutter for the first time in 2 years.

“This is it”, these were the words I said when I made the first mobile application with the framework, of course, it was a simple calculator application, but it was not exactly what I made, it was the feeling. It was ecstatic, For the first time in a very long time, I was happy with what I was writing. And why I was leaving all the other programming languages and sticking to flutter

I’m not the only one who feels like this, the feeling like you don’t feel happy coding with a particular programming language, most people might refer to this as Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), but we both know that’s not it. If that’s the case, then you should ask yourself the simple question.

WHAT IS THE MAIN REASON I’M USING THE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE OR FRAMEWORK?

Before I started to code I was simply amazed at the thought of creating mobile applications. Of course, Artificial Intelligence, Web Development, Software Development, and all the others were fascinating to me, they never really made me feel as intrigued as I was to mobile app development, this passion was what led me to learn the flutter framework in the first place. When I found myself not able to develop mobile apps, I went into learning python. Python although having many capabilities was not exactly suitable for mobile app development. And despite learning the Flask web framework to create a lot of applications. I realized it came from a deep-rooted insatiable desire to make mobile applications.

Other articles and blog posts might give you numerous other reasons, but in the end, this is what it boils down to. If you are coding for the right reasons

The main reason, passion, and what led me to go into programming was to create mobile applications. It was as simple as that. What made you go into programming? Are you still doing what you enjoy? Is this something you want to stick with for a longer period? If your answer to these questions is even slightly negative, then you should find a way to go back to doing what you enjoy.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

Now I know you’ll probably think, “So you’re telling me that I should simply leave the programming language I’ve spent three years of my life learning?”. YES, but does it change anything, because come to think of it, you don’t just forget everything about a programming language simply because you choose to stop using it, your brain is an amazing tool that can retain that knowledge so that you can easily use it whenever the need arises. I didn’t code with flutter for 2 years but was able to create an application. So you’re not abandoning or leaving any programming language. You’re simply deciding to add a new weapon, your favorite weapon to your arsenal.

So If you do feel out of place, you really should do something about it, Life is too short to be wasting your time doing something you do not enjoy.