Learning to code - 1st month experience
Tags: beginners, html, css, javascript
Published: 2020-04-28 10:53:59

The lockdown is a perfect opportunity to focus on things you don't really have time when life is normal. I've tried to dig into learning to code a few times before, but there was always something more important in my hectic cabin crew life, so I could never engage as much as it requires. 
I've told to myself: "If you can't do it now, then you'll never going to do it."

So I started with a free online course (HTML, CSS) at Greenfox Academy and then I moved on to JavaScript with my mentor @munkacsimark.

Here is my experience and tips which may help coder newbies like me:

1. Basics are usually not the fun parts of learning, so for me **to avoid distraction** by social media, netflix or chat with friends **was not easy**.
I'm still working on it, but what helped me a lot that I have a daily routine with the things I want to get done by the end of the day. And of course the more you digest, the more hungry you will be, so keep going!

2. There are a lot of opinions on the internet about which language is better than the other or how you should solve problems. My advice is: **don't accept any opinion without trying things out**, so you can have your own idea, based on your experience.

3. **Having a mentor is essential.** Try to find someone who you can annoy with your questions! Trust me, they will be more than happy to help. Lot of online courses have mentoring options, or you can DM the person whose article/tutorial was helpful for you, but you still have questions.

4. **Feeling dumb is okay.** I know it's really hard to accept, but things you don't understand now, will make sense later. 

5. Look back where you were weeks ago, you'll be surprised how far you've come. **The more you know, you realise how much you don't know**, but allow yourself a little celebration after reaching every small milestones like your first functioning form, first webpage, first problem you solved on your own.

6. **Accept there is no one-way path.** Learning to code can be overwhelming for the first time. It's not like studying in traditional school where you can see all the stages clearly. It was hard for me, because I like to see the steps I should take to reach my goal. Accept this is neverending learning.

What have I learned so far?

* Basics of HTML: syntax, structure, tags, classes, id, semantics, forms
* Basics of CSS: syntax, pseudo selectors, basics of flexbox
* Beginning of JavaScript: syntax, data types and structures, reaching DOM, callback, classes, array methods

Here is a task I solved in JS recently: List the name of students who are above 20!
```javascript
const studentArray = [
  {name: 'Jack', age: 23},
  {name: 'Mary', age: 35},
  {name: 'Tim', age: 18},
  {name: 'Lisa', age: 20},
  {name: 'Adam', age: 31},
];

const aboveTwenty = 
    studentArray
      .filter(students => students.age >20)
      .map(students => students.name);

console.log(Object.values(aboveTwenty));
```


ps. this is a personal experience, basically thinking out loud, to document the path I'm going through on the way to become a developer. **And wow, after writing this article I feel even more motivated!**