I wasnāt flunking interviews because I couldnāt code.
I was flunking because I couldnāt explain the code I wrote ā especially under pressure, with sweaty palms and a blinking cursor of doom.
So I did what any panicked, ambitious dev might do:
I built a React Playground to practice explaining my logic like a senior... even if my imposter syndrome said otherwise.
š» Whatās Inside the Playground
Each page is a React mini-lesson. But I didnāt want tutorials ā I wanted talk-throughs.
Hereās what I included (so far):
š§ useState ā Controlled inputs, because nothingās worse than an input that ignores you.
š useEffect ā Side effect chaos, complete with the usual āinfinite loopā trap.
š API Fetch ā With async/await, error handling, and a loading fallback. Because interviewers love to ask, āWhat happens if the API fails?ā
š§© Reusable Components ā Props, children, and a little prop-drilling drama.
š§ React Router ā Because sometimes the real component is the friends we render along the way.
šæļø Squirrel This Away for Later
š Check out the repo on GitHub ā
š§Ŗ Why This Helped Me
Practicing live made me:
Actually remember what useEffect does instead of just reciting StackOverflow.
Build muscle memory for talking while coding.
Spot my own logic gaps before someone else had to.
Itās not a perfect app. But it works, and it teaches.
š§ What Should I Build Next?
Iāve got ideas (custom hooks, context, useReducer madness...)
But Iād love to hear from you:
š What React concept helped you the most when things finally "clicked"?
š What do you wish you had practiced before your last tech interview?
Drop a comment. Roast my components. Fork the repo.
Letās turn this into the interview-prep playground we all needed but never got.
šŖ Bonus Vibes
Iām keeping this app small, weird, and brutally practical.
The goal?
Not perfection. Not polish.
Just clarity under pressure ā and maybe a little āØchaotic coding therapy⨠along the way.
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