Welcome to my story of the 100DaysOfCode journey
🤔 Introduction
🟩 I wanted to build the habit of coding regularly. After scouring social media, back in 2018, researching online and learning about different methods I was lucky enough to land on the 100DaysOfCode challenge. It is the best method for keeping yourself accountable on your self-taught journey.
If you’re wondering what the challenge is, I will give you a brief overview. It only requires you to code one hour per day consistently for the next 100 days, along with this you tweet your progress with the #100DaysOfCode hashtag. It is that simple.
Visit 10DaysOfCode To learn more
🚀 Journey
The Beginning
🟩 My first try with 100DaysOfCode was around summertime in 2019. Before this, my first trial was back in 2018 for a month. And as you can imagine, the first try at anything will most likely be a bad experience. I was no exception to this rule, I stumbled multiple times, made wrong decisions and I was unorganised, to say the least. I really did not know what I was doing. My assumptions drove me down a catalogue of tutorial hell, which was very exhausting because I was not seeing any results of progress. My only focus was finishing countless tutorials and regurgitating what someone else said and did. When I look back at it now I would say it is not the best way to learn to program.
🟩 Fast Forward to 2022. I decided to give 100DaysOfCode a second try after 2 years of not coding consistently. This time around I scratched the idea of following tutorials. The main goal in making this possible is hands-on coding, researching, and practical implementations, which are the best learning methods. So far I see myself making steady progress and learning from my previous mistakes.
Resources
🟩 With the help of online resources like freeCodeCamp and The Odin Project I was able to navigate around learning to code effectively as a junior developer. Their curriculums are structured in a way that makes learning straightforward.
🟩 Knowing how to learn was an important factor for me. I was lucky to have come across plenty of resources that helped me along the way. These narrowed my focus which propelled me further without wasting time. Googling and asking the right questions are core skills to knowing how to learn, they are helpful when looking for references and having feedback on project issues.
Networking
🟩 As an introverted self-taught individual you can understand my lack of networking. This time, I forced myself to open up more and network with other developers. The Twitter Developer community opened my eyes to most of the recourses I currently use. From community platforms such as Hashnode to reference websites like geeksforgeeks and everything in between. You learn much more from experienced developers and sometimes you end up helping others with your past problems and challenges. I would encourage people to join developer communities; whether online or at meet-ups; as they make a huge difference in your learning journey.
🔒 Conclusion
🟩 I am proud of the progress I have made so far. I thank the developer community in general for helping me along the way. And I appreciate myself for sticking around for this long. The journey to becoming a developer is no small feat, it’s a marathon that requires setting out goals and committing to them consistently. That is why I would recommend the 100days challenge. It will help keep you accountable along your coding journey. At first, it might feel longwinded, but give it time and you’ll find it to be second nature to your everyday tasks.
Thank you for reading my first blog. If you want to connect with me you can find me on Twitter and LinkedIn. And with all of that being said good luck on your learning journey.
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