For the past three months, I've been studying JavaScript and applying it to web applications to better practice and improve my skills. Formerly having learned HTML and CSS, the experience has been quite exciting with many good and bad times. With javascript, many things are simplified as a few lines of Js code could achieve what CSS couldn't in too many lines. What fascinates me are the quirks that come alongside coding using js and its functionality when added to HTML and CSS codes.
My journey was full of exciting and frustrating times. I'm happy as I had an opportunity to learn a language with cool features. Secondly, the learning the basics experience was enjoyable because it was some sort of "honey moon"😅. Lastly, I can't express the pleasure i get after of solving bugs and errors.
The surprising part was that the frustrations made the journey fun. I will refer to the first project I did, as it had me working through challenges in Js and Github. my endurance was put to the test with sleepless nights and days where I almost smashed my machine.
The 1st project was quite simple; therefore, it amuses me of how much I encountered Js errors. I'd get numerous bugs, and the worst part was that I didn't understand most error code messages. Luckily, with the end of my tutorial classes, I felt confident enough to begin personal projects.
It's easier said than done since things got quite harder than I expected.
I got tempted to look for codes online to avoid a repetition of my first experience with Js. So I began to code with constant occurrences of bugs and error messages that had me thinking about researching source codes for previously done projects rather than going through my hustle.
Regardless, I reminded myself that I was on a learning streak, and I worked my way through the errors, late debugging nights, and consultations. The funniest parts of my journey were when I experienced bugs and decided to google solutions online on Stack overflow and youtube, but the result was negative. I would often work with solutions from more experienced developers. However, implementing the same technique on my code and still experiences poor workability made me disappointed. I mean, how is it that my code was irresponsive when I followed everything correctly? Or maybe there was a problem with my machine and IDE.
I realized my CSS code was holding me back, but the issue was still there after the transitions.
So I decided to get help from one of my Js guru friends. I had to come up with a repo for my project, then add and commit it to push it to Github finally and include him as my collaborator. After inspection, he asked me to create branches separate from my primary branch, where he would have access to view the changes made to my code and edit it. It was at that moment where I realized I was not fully skilled in GitHub. Don't get me wrong, I mean, I could separate branches before and make changes on my master branch. So I set out to employ working with separate branches, which led to me deleting my repo and creating a new one.
Js had me struggling with codes, and Github stressed me out but turned out to be very helpful for me. Most of the time, I was stuck in between making changes on my master branch and committing them so that I could switch them to a separate branch, only to find that I had not committed the changes. So I resorted to pushing the code to Github using a separate branch to experience the same error repeatedly. I repeated the process quite a lot, and though tedious, it was quite educative.
Eventually, I understood how to work with Git land earned the git commands justifying my whole encounter.
I have learnt that it's normal to make mistakes and it is very okay to learn things slowly. I have made a lot of tiny mistakes that have made me end up starting a project all over again. I always take mistakes as a chance to learn. However if you make a mistake, don't keep it to yourself; first try to fix it on your own; if that doesn't work, Google the problem; and if that doesn't work, you can now seek assistance from someone more experienced than you.
Lastly, don't be too hard on yourself. It's always good to take a break from the screen from time to time. I always take some time away from my screen to play football or just do some physical stuff since this really helps in clearing my mind.
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