I logged into to Code Cademy to start a journey into learning to code. In December I got the email titled "Congrats on one month of code!" The only problem I had not returned to site in a month. Well things were about to change.
I turned to YouTube and started searching everything about learning to code:
- Best websites to learn code,
- Methods: CS degree vs. bootcamp vs. self-taught,
- Top 5 things,
- The three most important to do's, and
- Being a digital nomad, etc.
Let's peel the onion back a little bit. For some of you reading this post you know I've attended open houses at Coding Dojo, started an application with Learner's Guild (felt intimidated), logged into a webinar with Bloc (gained hope), and looked in Galvanize, Dev Camp, and blah, blah, blah give me money <insert name here/> coding bootcamp site.
The biggest obstacles that I started to reason out were:
1) funding ($4k-$14K), 2) giving up 3 months of seeing daylight, 3) not having a sugar mama or sugar daddy <see obstacle #1/>, and 4) let's face it I run and it's my life's anchor.
The biggest obstacles that I started to reason out were:
1) funding ($4k-$14K), 2) giving up 3 months of seeing daylight, 3) not having a sugar mama or sugar daddy <see obstacle #1/>, and 4) let's face it I run and it's my life's anchor.
The main video on YouTube that spoke to me differently after watching it the second time and accepting the obstacles identified was the following:
The 3 main takeaways:
1) code everyday.
2) hang out with other people who code.
3) tools really don't matter.
The first day of the year I summited Mt. Diablo with the Beer Bucket Run crew. The second day during an uber driving break at whole foods-dogpatch I popped open the laptop and started reviewing what I learned on November 21st. My brain hurt but I was back on the horse.
Day 3: I logged onto Free Code Camp and was totally impressed by the depth of resources: chat forums, facebook groups in seemingly every city, blog, and industry news. It was in the blog that I learned about the 100 days of code challenge.
Day 3: I logged onto Free Code Camp and was totally impressed by the depth of resources: chat forums, facebook groups in seemingly every city, blog, and industry news. It was in the blog that I learned about the 100 days of code challenge.
The began quite swiftly as I turned on the uber app and started taking people from point A to point B. Main goal was to get to Berkley and continue learning how to code at one of my main eastbay coffee shops Sacks on College near UCB!
FreeCodeCamp.com sets you up with a challenges that navigate you over a curriculum. I the challenge wall hardcore. So I did some google searching. I finally asked the forum on FreeCodeCamp and asked for help. The person that decided to "help" could not have been more condescending! It ticked me off but I was cordial and asked that the help not "put me down" in the process. Response: "I should run on to my next helper." OHH! Now I am livid, but focused.
My interpretation was the following: "You can't do this." Those of ya'll that have been around me know that even implying "You Can't!" Fires me Up! Why? Because Yes, I Can! Yes, I will! Watch Me! How many Latin@s stop there? Where are the Raza that have made it? Where is their journey? I know they are out there.
Let's that this Ethnic-Macro...How many Latin@s stop there? Seriously, whether the negativity comes at school, in the home, online it can have the effect of discouraging progress.
Thus I ask, Where are the Raza that have made it? Where is their journey documented? Where are the career changer Latin@s? I know they are out there. There is tons of 411 on high school programs, college programs like google summer of code, but what about the 30+ that have game, skill, and drive that want to blow sh!t up and go beyond the stereotype and bring some swagger and vegan tamales to the industry.
Ok. Enough ranting. I'm fired up. You get it.
The next few days I plowed through the content while figuring out what my learning best practices are in respect to learning how to code.
Day 13: At the conclusion of the day I had put in roughly 15 hours of learning. Next up my first projects on FreeCodeCamp. Quickly I realized that I needed to take a step back and supplement the learning with more substance. This is where CodeCademy comes into the mix.
Moving forward the plan is document the journey. The learning curve might be greater coming form a non Computer Science background but what I have in favor is that I have a science background.
I come from a solution finding career as a former political operative. Where will the journey lead me? Unclear. All I have to do is keep moving forward and focus on what I can control.
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