Phase 1 Completion
Published: 2023-04-08 03:55:07

It's been a long three weeks since I started attending this software engineering program, and I'm to report here that I'm quite happy with how things turned out. Slowly but surely, I am regaining a part of myself that I lost for three years and more to the pandemic. I've somewhat regained my passion for tech after attending this software engineering program and meeting all kinds of people. From people who have no experience at all in coding and are just trying something new to people who just want to see what they are capable of. I've learned so much in these 3 weeks about JavaScript and HTML that even I was surprised at how much I could learn in such a short amount of time. Even though the rate at which I learned something new fluctuated, I eventually just figured things out and clicked with them after using them in some practice challenges. The first week felt the longest out of the 3, as it was just me cramming a lot of new and old information alike and having to get them completely understood and use them effectively in my code. During this week, I felt like I managed to become very literate in code, being able to guess potential bugs that may arise before even running the code. This week also helped me visualize code in my head before executing it, so I can fix or modify anything I need to beforehand. The feeling of being able to do anything that I want with code feels like a fever dream at times, but it's definitely there if I can keep up this momentum. I hope that when I do become more proficient in programming, I'll be able to make amazing things that people can use in their everyday lives and be satisfied about what I made with confidence. I like expressing myself through programming, and I'm hoping that I can continue to have this mindset throughout the course as I complete and do projects that will continue to boost my confidence. On week 2 of the first phase of the program, my nerves were all over the place because of the code challenge. I kept doubting myself severely and constantly throughout the challenge, but somehow I did better than I expected. Instead of a 9 out of 15, I got a 12 out of 15, which really boosted my confidence by a small margin but nonetheless. The same Friday as the code challenge, I was assigned to make a project based on what I learned in the two weeks, and it was fun to do. I had a good partner who was really amazing in CSS and who designed the user interface of the website and made it appealing in the end. The project we chose was a simple little trivia game that got questions from a local JSON file, which I had to manually get the questions and answers for from various sources. It was fun completing the whole backend of the trivia within the same weekend, getting everything to work, and adding some add-ons throughout the week to make the project slightly better. We spent a lot of time debugging and modifying things to make the program run smoothly, and we had enough time to test it extensively to make sure it was presentable. During the next phase of the program, I'm going to learn React, and I feel like it's going to be a new kind of challenge since I don't know anything about React in the first place. This phase is going to be the phase where I truly test how far I'm willing to go into actually learning something completely new and seeing for myself what I can do with something completely new in my arsenal. I hope with React I can regain more confidence in myself than I did with Phase 1, making for an even more amazing and intensive end to the phase project. I'm also hoping I get a partner similar to the one I had, where they're easy to talk to for a nervous wreck like me and cooperative as well. When this program is done, I'm hoping that I'll be able to write code easily for any and every idea that crosses my mind. I'm also hoping that my capstone project turns out impressive enough to the point where I can show it off to the important people in my life that really helped me get to this point in life. I want those people to see the creations I've made and have them use them in their everyday lives as well, making their lives a lot easier and happier. Programming really allows me to connect with people and put my imagination to good use. I'm really grateful for attending this program and wondering what the future holds and where it would take me in this industry and just in life in general.