Time for a Readjustment

This post is taken from my blog My Web Development Odyssey

Due to the continued depression I spoke of last time, it was necessary for me to spend almost two weeks in a mental health unit. I’m now home and feeling much better, despite a recent relationship break-up. Sometimes a small tweak in medications and/or some time in a “safe” place is all that is needed.

Friends, this is what the blog is about. It’s about the struggles that go beyond the typical. It’s about traveling a path of many curves, mountains, and forks. The road less taken. Eventually, I’ll write more technical posts. But for now, it’s mostly about the unbeaten path.

There are a few factors that came to play that may have exacerbated my symptoms. I’ll discuss just the one pertinent to web development.

Because I’ll be on the older end of the age spectrum for entry level web developers, I feel as if I must go that extra mile to make myself more marketable and able to compete.

Not only am I learning fullstack JavaScript development, but I was planning on learning PHP/Wordpress, Python, and Java backend development. All by the end of this year.

I still intend to learn PHP and WordPress as I’d like to dive into freelancing to both function as a side gig and build my professional portfolio with those said gigs.

I clearly expected too much of myself. I’ve decided to scale back and wait to learn Python and Java until next year or until the job requires it. Everything else I’ve extended the learning time range.

Proceeding in this manner will allow me to do required study about 3 hours per day (if I want to stay on schedule) as opposed to the 7 hours that I would have needed otherwise.

My new schedule allows for more personal time and allows some flexibility to catch up if I fall behind.

I’m pressing myself to really understand JavaScript on both a deep and a fundamental level. In my world, theory is extremely important. Knowing how and why things work is the cornerstone to instill best practices in my opinion.

Allowing myself more time to really understand the fundamental and advanced concepts ensures I’ll be in an optimal position of really understanding any frameworks and libraries as well. And of course to write the best code I can.

Honestly, I didn’t think it would take as long as it has, but when life continues to throw curve balls we need to pause, reflect, and readjust.

I’ll soon be undergoing another major life change. I’ll be moving to the Central Valley area in California. Just about 2 hours east of the Bay Area and Silicon Valley. I’m hoping location will be a major career advantage.

Overall, I believe it’s a move in the right direction. It may disrupt my studies slightly or even moderately, but I’ll make those readjustments as needed.

In an upcoming post I’ll share my reasons for moving and how it will enhance my web developer career.

Is there anything happening in your life that is disrupting your learning?

Feel free to share in the comments.