This article was initially published on hashnode
I call myself Kolade Chris Ksound. I'm a Blackman, an African, a Nigerian channeling his smartness to the right course, a son, brother, and web developer.
My coding story is still piling up, but I would like to tell you a little about it.
It’s been a year since I've been learning to code on my own. I have no CS degree as some may guess. After I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Biology in 2018, I started feeling something was not right. The confidence I used to have that I would excel in the fields my course of study entails (Environment and Biology) suddenly faded away. There was a solution I had in mind – learn a skill. And then I remembered I once told myself I would learn how to make a website the first time I saw a web page in my life back in 2006 or 2007. I had tried to learn in 2012 when I had every access to a home laptop computer but didn't do anything meaningful to get started. I fired myself into action immediately after graduating by registering for a free HTML and CSS Course with IBM. According to their stories, the organizers were IBM workers who never had CS degrees but learned to code and made a bot for the company. I was wowed! But guess what, I never visited that website again until last year.
The mandatory national youth service of my country came banging on the door. And then I obeyed the clarion call. One day, while sitting alone on camp (I'm an extreme introvert so I could stay alone in a single place for hours), a marketer from an ICT company came to meet me and sold himself to me about a subsidized web development training his bosses organized for corps members (That’s what those serving my country as fresh graduates are called). Inside of me, I was like "what the heck! This guy is God-sent" I registered without hesitation from the money I had to use for feeding! After I left camp, the organizers never did anything to start until January 2020 (they should have started in September 2019). And to my surprise, when they put things together to start, they said I had to pay 60% of the total fee before they would have to start (that was when NYSC increased corpers monthly allowance to 33k. Don’t be shocked, it’s in Naira and not Dollars) I said wait, una wan carry straw suck my money because NYSC increased alawee? No shit naa. (You guys want to suck my money with straw because NYSC increase corps members allowance? No shit). Every appeal to make them start yielded no fruit. And then Covik one nine reached Nigeria. Wait, did I say Covik one nine? Oh! It is Covid-19.
I had been discussing the issue with a fellow corps member. He never told me he could get me started until those guys said I should pay 60% before they'd start. So, I reached an agreement with him to start. I also registered for a free Web dev course on Udemy. So the two were going on simultaneously. I was introduced to HTML and CSS. After getting a little bit confident weeks later, I started trying out things on my own.
I realized I need to learn more about the two. And that if I'm ever going to make a dynamic website, I must learn and know JavaScript. I got my balls together and applied all seriousness, broke away around April ending, and started doing things on my own. I always believe I'm better alone. Things became nicer when I got to know about Laurence Bradford’s Learn To Code With Me. Her website, learntocodewith.me is the single source of everything thing I was able to learn and the community I joined on Twitter, #100DaysOfCode. To cut the stories short, I got comfortable with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (I felt like an idiot while learning JavaScript and dumped it two times). From JavaScript, I moved to React and the server-side with Node JS and Express JS (not focusing on the backend yet), got comfortable with the command line (that black thing on computer machines hackers and developers use) and here we are today.
Of Utmost inspiration to me are Laurence Bradford and Brad Traversy. I had my paths set out when I was able to get informed the way I’m supposed to via learntocodewith.me, but with Brad Traversy, I was able to find my feet and stay more focused. Both individuals, alongside a tutor I believe in so much, Ryan Dhungel remain my coding role models for life.
I’m not where I want to be yet, I’m not making money the way I want yet, and I’m not imparting lives the way I want yet, but I’ll be there one day.
Thank you for reading my story.
Get to know more about me via my portfolio website, ksound22.github.io , and my Twitter account, @koladechris.
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