“Hello World!” All Over Again

How the heck do you start a tech blog? Especially when you just put together your first rock-paper-scissors game?

I have started "becoming a programmer" 3 or 4 times now. I was stuck in "beginner hell" trying out different languages and too afraid to just pick one. I stopped learning Python because I had to download something. I gave up on data science when I struggled with the second Kaggle exercise. I even delayed starting this time because at some point down the line I’ll need to choose between Ruby and JS.

Lesson learned?

New things are way harder when you’re down in the dumps and feel the pressure of finding a job. Cut yourself some slack. Even the PhD’s typed their first programs wrong, they just did it at age 10 so they didn’t care.

Anyway, I’m a few months into The Odin Project now and loving every minute of it. Including the parts that make me feel stupid. I’m a lifelong musician and soccer player, and building even the simple things I’ve done so far feels like the magic of writing a song mixed with the competitive joy of winning a game. The only thing missing is the physical movement.

I’m a long way from my first real developer job, but if people reading this are considering dipping their toes in the water, I say go for it.

Sitting on the sidelines didn’t build me my first page any faster. Heck, I avoided chasing this dream so hard that I spent the past year in Thailand. I literally moved to the other side of the world because I was scared of being bad at this. And maybe I am bad at this, but at least I’m not frightened anymore. Driving in Thailand tends to readjust your perception of "frightening."

So once again, I'm saying "Hello World" and just trying to push past the awkwardness of sharing unfinished work.

Up next: Etch-a-Sketch!