I could easily transition from Python2 to Python3. I didn't have to unlearn a lot. I took the Codecadamy's new course on Python3. After a few days in I realized that I needed to buy a subscription to continue the next chapter.
Teens have credit cards?
Either provide us teens with a credit card and a monthly stipend or provide the services for free. No seriously, how am I supposed to pay for the subscription? "Adarsh, why don't you ask your parents to buy you the subscription. After all it's for educational purpose."
They wouldn't have agreed. At least that is what I thought that time. I would have been asked to provide a long list of justifications on why it is fruitful to invest money on my this "new" endeavor. I started to learn programming with no long-term goals or with any specific goals but just as a hobby.
Dejected but then enlightened by Mr. Jobs
I felt really dejected. What can a teen do? How was I to pay for the subscription. Sure, I could learn Python from some other source which doesn't involve "credit cards". But I had fallen love with Codecadamy. I was hoping for a miracle to happen.
And the miracle happened! I had read the biography of Steve Jobs some time back. And I recalled an incident where teen Steve wanted some gadget/tools so he looked up everywhere before deciding to directly contact Henry Ford! Teen Steve found the contact number of the big business man from yellow pages and made the call. And to Steve's surprise Mr. Ford answered the call! Steve got the gadgets that he wanted plus an internship. How crazy is that?
So I did just that. No, I didn't call Henry Ford! But, I mailed Codecadamy expressing my desire to learn and my inability to pay for the course. I also said how Codecadamy was super awesome. I went to bed with my fingers crossed. Guess what happened when I opened Codecadamy the next morning? A violet label labelled Pro beamed after my name in the dashboard. I had been given a free Pro account subscription for three months! The world isn't so much of a bad place after all.
Training to become a Pro with the Pro account
I was super pumped after getting the Pro subscription. I completed the Python3 course and I had built some solid confidence in the language. I began to realize the beauty of programming. Though I couldn't build anything new with the knowledge I had, the process of learning was giving me immense enjoyment.
What did I do with my newly learnt skills? I will write about that soon.
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