🎉 Today marks the first day of my take on #100DaysOfCode!!! 🎉

If you have never heard of it, #100DaysOfCode challenges programmers to spend at least 1 hour of coding every day for 100 days! The rules include documenting your progress and you can find a large online community of both new and experienced coders taking part in this challenge.

Participating is an engaging way to help maintain a daily habit of coding. And if you get stuck, there is a large support community that will help you find the strength even on days when you don't feel like trying to navigate your way around vim. You can find more about the challenge here.

WHY AM I DOING THIS❓

When I first heard about the challenge (literally 5 hours ago), I immediately knew it was something I wanted to do. Like many of you out there, I forgive myself far too quickly for slacking off way too often so I thought it was about time I get my shit together. I'm ready to begin pushing my limits and I'm curious to see if I have what it takes to commit to something for 100. CONSECUTIVE. DAYS. (Hold on... so why does it say #50DaysOfCode? 🤔 Keep reading!) So what do I plan to achieve by doing this?

MY GOALS ☑️

1. Complete this challenge. Committing to something every single day is a feat in itself! 💪💪
2. Build something! In 49 days when I look back on this challenge, I want to feel accomplished and have something to show for it. I'm hoping to build my momentum little by little and have a project up and running (not necessarily finished) when I complete #50DaysOfCode. And I already have a few ideas!
3. Find my zen. I find myself struggling to focus when it's time to get work done. That's why one of my goals is to learn how to calm my mind and find what works for me. Maybe that means creating the perfect Spotify playlist 🎶 or finding the most comfortable spot in the study hall, we'll find out.
4. 👏Green👏up👏that👏Github👏profile👏. This is mostly here for me to flex on my friends. 😜

MY RULES 📜

The great thing about this challenge is that it is for your own growth and it is your own adventure that you have chosen to embark on. With that being said, I'm going to shape this challenge to my needs/wants and give my own definition.

1. #50DaysOfCode. I wanted to begin this challenge as soon as possible but the issue is that it would fall into my next school semester. Along with taking 6 courses and finding a summer job, I also wish to get involved with other extra-curriculars (including salsa dancing 💃)! As I am unsure of my level of commitment, I have decided to pledge 50 days rather than 💯.

2. My own personal story. The challenge recommends connecting on twitter with others who are also partaking in the challenge. Well, I don't have twitter so here I am. In all seriousness, I joined this challenge for myself so that is who I'll be documenting this for. This is a space for me to make notes and reflect on my progress.

   If you wish to follow along, you can find proof of my participation here. NOTE: I am not a strong writer so some days may just be bullet points or scrambled thoughts.

3. Cheat days. I have allowed cheat days (because I don't have complete faith in myself to complete this without a safety net). More importantly, this is in place to give myself necessary time off while also keeping me on track. #selfcare #selflove 🤟

   However, I am not allowed to just take them as I please. I have assigned increasingly unpleasant 'punishments' for myself. The first time I miss a day, I need to spend an extra hour in the gym. The following one after that, I must not use my phone for an hour (trust me, this is almost impossible for a millennial like myself 😩). The next time requires helping my mom garden for an hour (seriously terrifying). If anyone has ideas for other punishments please comment down below!

4. Daily goal. I need organization in my life!! Everyone knows that the hardest part about getting together with your friends is deciding where to eat. So every morning, I will complete that first step in making progress and write down a daily goal for myself.

5. #?HoursOfCode. Last but not least, my final rule is that I need to keep track of how much time I've spent coding. This is just for me to look back and measure how much I have achieved.

   Does this include work or class assignments? That's up to me! The more you code, the more you grow - and any bit of learning counts! If I feel that the work I did was meaningful, I'm going to include it in this challenge. But if I feel that my 8 hours of coding at work everyday is kind of a cheat, I'm going to leave it out. 😛

AM I READY 😶

At first I was skeptical of whether I could commit to #50DaysOfCode, but now that I have put so much effort in writing all this out, I feel like I owe it to myself to complete the challenge. I am ready and excited for the next 49 days so LETS GET THIS BREAD!! 🍞

After 25 days, I will have a midpoint check-in to see how I am progressing and we can examine how I feel then. 😬 Have I committed to at least an hour of coding every day (keep in mind I will have not begun school yet so I shouldn't have any excuses)? Am I advancing towards my goals or do I need to reevaluate them? How are my Github contributions looking?

Stay tuned...

Thanks for reading to the end! 🤗 This was my first time writing a blog post so let me know what you think!

Many thanks to @StuFinn for your inspiring post [find it here] and to @jaffacakestudio for your words of encouragement ♥