Phase -1: 'The Phantom Menace'
Published: 2023-01-05 23:32:59

It seems like yesterday when I first started my journey at Flatiron School, so young, so unprepared... This is not your normal blog post of how to write a function, or understanding event listeners. This blog post is about my experience through *Phase-1* of Flatiron School Software Engineering.

We'll call it 'The Phantom Menace' becuase I had no idea what was ahead of me. I'm hoping to keep the Star Wars theme for my futute blog posts. So without further or due...

A few weeks ago...
in this same galaxy...

## < Phase-1 > *The Phantom Menace* 

### < Week 1 > *// Just Power Through It*

No matter how many videos I looked up or podcasts I could've listener to that could've prepared me for the absolute tsunami of information Week 1 was. 

Getting started, learning to learn again, learning something completely new!, and preparing for your first Code Challenge. If the thought of this scenario doesn't overwhelm you, well... then bootcamps are for you. 

The week started with topics covered over the pre-work phase, things you did before heading into class. I like to call it *"the confidence booster"*. But as expected, things got harder and more complex, missing a beat during Dakota's lecture would leave you behind, realizing that those who wonder INDEED are lost.

Needless to say Friday came around, moral was reaching a week low and the weekend was much needed. I was feeling left behind and also fired up to tackle these new topics, I was determined to learn and understand.

### < The Weekend > *// The Click*

This past week I have done nothing but eat, sleep, and dream JavaScript. Yes, I did dream JS, thinking of paths and ways to solve problems that didn't even need solution, but I was in it. I needed time for myself but also needed as much time as possible to grasp these concepts. I starred at my phone studying and looking up examples on my way to the slopes. I found a way to do both of my needs.

I was feeling refreshed, I needed to clear my mind. After that, my mind started connecting the dots. It was a pretty amazing and euphoric feeling. Nothing had changed regarding my approach, I just simply needed to take a step back to see the big picture. By no means it was miraculous, but it sure did clear my vision from the blurred lines I was missing.

### < Week 2 > *// The Code Challenge 'CC'*

Started the week at an all time high... moral high, not Colorado high. Things were clicking for me, I could see and understand the flow of things. Prep labs were challenging but not out of my league, this gave me confidence. I have always been terrible at test taking. The timed restriction and the need to be fast and critical have always messed with my head, so having a good feeling leading into this challenge definitely helped keep the week relaxed. 

Small bumps and hiccups during labs but I was reassured multiple times by my peers that I was doing great and my JS knowledge was solid for this CC. 

Friday, CC day. I arrived at FIS Denver Campus and set up my laptop with an extra screen, same spot since day 1. I was ready, some reviewed, I just hung out and kept a good mentality. 

10AM,  CC time. The assignment was posted and the timer started ticking. Overwhelming feeling to get things going, a couple of breaths and I am back to focus. I read the CORE deliverables and focused on them first. 

"One step at a time". 

CCs are open resource, meaning you can use google, notes, etc. Under 1 hour I was able to get things going and working, all CORE deliverables completed. Uff... I got through it.

### < Week 3 > *// Project*

Project due date: FRIDAY 

My partner and I did some but really minimal work during our week long break. We focused mainly on our HTML & CSS.

Coming back from break we got to work on the JS side of things, pace was great we were making great progress through our // TO DO // list.

By Wednesday morning most tasks were done, it was my partners section to deliver. By Wednesday afternoon after debugging a fetch() GET & db.json file issue, my partner decided to drop out of FIS-SE. 

When I got home that night I sat down for a couple of ours and completed the remaining tasks. Project completed, 100% my code; HTML, CSS & JS. 

I'm delivering this project tomorrow.

                              *... TO BE CONTINUED NEXT PHASE*