Google Developer Scholarship (Front-End Web Dev) Phase 1
IMPOSSIBLE
Impossible is what people say when they start to tell about coding with languages such as JavaScript. I have thought so, a long time myself. Afraid to not be able to understand what coding is about, I always left it on my “TODO” list. Awaiting until someday I would see the light and just “DO IT”.
UDACITY MAIL
Although, I started to learn HTML while doing, it was not until November 6th 2017, my coding journey finally started. As one of the lucky few participating in the first phase of Google Scholarship for Front-End Web Development, given by #Udacity. I applied to it, with the idea to never, ever hear of it again. A little surprised, but mostly curious, they send me a mail. I was accepted!
CHALLENGE
As I like to keep learning new things and challenging myself, I decided to join the challenge and give it all. One of the best decisions I have made in my life. Combining a full-time job, with taking care of a little girl, being the only one with a stable income at home and do this coding challenge was at least a little challenging. Learning HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery in just three months of time, sounds a little silly as well, for a complete beginner. But hey, life is there to be experienced and no one said it would be easy.
EXPERIENCE
February 6th of 2018, the first phase officially ended. Not only was I able to finish the course in time. I learned so much on my way, that I will absolutely continue coding. It feels like I finally found the missing puzzle in my career. This challenge was surprisingly not a challenge against each other. With 60.000 selected students, it could easily have been like that. Instead, it has been a challenge towards myself. And I learned quite a lot during this great adventure. Here are the 5 main lessons I learned, while starting to code with Udacity:
LESSONS LEARNED WHILE CODING
LESSON 1: Never ever give up.
LESSON 2: Search, search, search
LESSON 3: Ask everything to anyone.
LESSON 4: Coding is Better together.
LESSON 5: Never underestimate anyone´s capabilities.
Here is why:
Lesson 1: There were many times, i just did not get what the lesson wanted me to teach, but I was not willing to give up. For not everyone gets this opportunity, so I kept trying to understand..and in the end all fell in place. Coding is much like solving a puzzle. In the beginning you do not get it, but while doing, your brain is creating new connections and before you know, you start to think about coding like “This is actually easy”.
Lesson 2: The best way to understand how to code is to just code. To try and try again. To learn from your errors. To search everything you can to learn more about it. Make Google, Mozilla MDN, Stack Overflow your best friends.
Lesson 3: Although the general idea exist that coding is just “a hand few of very smart guys eating pizza and drinking coffee and cola-cola”, this idea is a little outdated. I have met people from all walks of life, complete beginners, experienced coders, young, old, men, woman, with different religious backgrounds, working together peacefully. Code is everywhere and questions are needed to improve as a whole. Coding has nothing to do with DO-IT-ALONE. You code alone, but you learn together!
Lesson 4: Not surprisingly, Coding at Udacity is a very social thing. Besides coding, participating in Forum and Slack is a requirement for this scholarship. And i perfectly get it. Learning to code is like asking everything you do not know, share any links that might help others and discuss to understand. You compete against yourself and you build together. Isn´t that just great?
Lesson 5: It is easy to think “Coding is impossible”, but actually. Is it really impossible? Or is it just an excuse to not have to start? I must admit. I have always wanted to code a website myself, but i have held this excuse for a long time as true. “Impossible”. I was wrong. Completely wrong! Maybe you are too!
I´M POSSIBLE, JUST LIKE YOU
These three months at Udacity changed my life for the good. I am really grateful for this incredible opportunity that was given to me. I not only learned to code, I have met an incredible bunch of mind-liked people that are dedicated, helpful, respectful, positive human beings. Some i have had the change to meet in real person. Most of them I only met online. We have started as a bunch of individuals with a challenge and ended up up like a motivated group of online co-workers. Always there to help out others and to improve ourselves, to become better persons then we were before.
Rest me with the question: If I am possible, why you would not be?
You do not have to believe me on my word. Just find it out yourself
