I just learned HTML twice.

Okay so that’s a bit dramatic to say the least, bit I did. So I am studying to become a full stack web developer, well I am now, but the truth I don’t really know where this will lead me. Remember when you were younger and people would ask yourself “what do you want to be when you grow up?” well I wanted to be a film director, or a lawyer. And then I just wanted a job, eventually I found myself working in Bid Management and I’ve been doing this job for over 10 years. I’d say I’m pretty good at it, but it wasn’t the goal i’d set myself, but things worked out. I’m professionally successful and I work with an outstanding team. I have little reason to complain.

So with coding, what is the end goal? Machine Learning with Python? Building websites? I have a fascination with Machine Learning.. The truth is I don’t know, but what I do know, what I clearly understand, is that I want to be good at it.

I have known a few people who have recommended The Odin Project, so that’s where I started. I installed Linux and got to work, HTML Basics and CSS basics doing activities at freeCodeCamp. They seemed to go fine, but spending a few mins on each task and moving on, I did get the feeling that I was solving a puzzle, but not learning how the puzzle is solved. I can tell you what Pythagoras theorem is, but I can’t tell you why it works. This is what happened at FCC, when I got to the final five tasks, I found myself flicking through text books and revisiting previous activities, and then I was looking at YouTube videos. I discovered the tutorials of Brad Traversy – I assume that’s his name, because the channel is Traversy Media – check it out, the crash courses are really good for beginners.

So I decided to sign up to Udemy and picked up his basics course and err a bunch of others, because I know my plan is to get HTML & CSS down and then move onto JavaScript… and I’m a sucker for a discount. So I completed the HTML basics stuff today, I actually wrote a ton of notes and did some practising along the way using VS Code. It was painfully easy, but between the note taking, practice and the quality of the teaching. And it’s down. I’ll do the CSS stuff tomorrow; still got about 19 hours of content to go through, and all this before I go back to the FCC ‘tests’ to get the Responsive Web Design certificate and then back to Odin. Not sure I’m doing this right, but I guess repetition is the best way for me to learn? I dunno.

I think all people that learn should be comfortable with the way they do learn, and we are all different types of learners. As this gets more complicated, I wonder, will I be able to retrain my brain to think in a manner that will make me proficient in my programming choices? I’d like to think so.. and if I don’t get it the first time, I’ll just do it again and again and again until I understand and can apply foundational understanding and then as I develop more advanced concepts to whatever it is I’m working on.