MY JOURNEY TO PROGRAMMING
Published: 2022-08-26 08:01:41

Hi, I am Ahumuza Julius Ceasar. I am a self teaching Front End Developer from Uganda, 21years old and I would like to share my my story on how I started learning Programming, how far I have gone, challenges I have faced,how I learn and am hopeful this could motivate all youth out there trying to learn any kind of Skill especially those in the Tech Field.

It was back then in 2021, that I started this journey. I started by learning Python with a recommendation from a friend and used a lot of resources such as Solo learn, books like A practical Introduction to Python Brian Heinold .  By then I was coding on phone since I had no laptop as I was still in high school. I felt like everything was getting overwhelming and I ended up giving up on my dream of becoming a programmer. I was not able to develop anything in Python but I don’t regret learning Python because with the skills I got from Python I was able to easily learn C programming when we reached the University for our B. Tech course in my first Semester. Still I have been able to learn Java in our second semester and it has not been that hard as it is for other course mates.
 So how do I start learning Front End Development, I later realized that we were to have Web development in our First year 2nd semester and decided to start self teaching before the next Semester kicked off. I started by learning HTML,CSS then JavaScript. I finally found what interested me and decided to stick to web development. I have used a lot of resources such as John Smilga’s HTML and CSS full course on you tube, books like HTML and CSS by John Duckett. 
It has not been an easy journey as a self taught developer, you are not sure if you are learning a lot, if you are skipping important stuff. Its not always not easy to learn by yourself but if you keep pushing and grinding, chances are that you will finally get what you want as doing something little is better than doing nothing at all. 

With web development, I have been able to build custom projects and hope to continue building more bigger projects which will  help me land all my dreams. I have been able to start making little money by teaching web development to  my fellow course mates. Currently I am learning ReactJs and hope to learn more new Technologies and improve my skills.

Some of the challenges I have faced mostly is self doubt, as a self taught developer, you are not sure of what you are learning. You will doubt your self a lot many times but you must fight and believe in your self and build something small with the skills you have learnt. Other challenges are burn outs, boring long tutorials, heavy books to read. But if you are determined to achieve something, you must find ways to handle all these challenges, that’s how successful people behave. They know how to handle challenges.

One thing I can advise all those trying to start learning programming or already learning is that its not an easy journey. You have to dedicate your best to it and keep grinding no matter the challenges faced as chances are that you will finally get all your dreams if you are giving in your best.

I have not reached where I want to be as far as Web development is concerned and will continue learning so as to improve my current skills. I believe that one day I will build my own Tech Company and will continue working and grinding such that I can make it true. Always remember that In life you can either become the fish of this ocean or the shark of the ocean. If you have chosen to become the shark, work hard to prove it. Thank you for reading I hope to share more stories about my self and help all those struggling to learn Programming.