Got a block, but not a writer
Tags: firstyearincode, career
Published: 2020-07-05 19:28:06

Hey all 👋, 

I am Nicholas(nice to E-meet you)🤓. I'm going to be straight forward, creating a blog was never my thing, yet here I am wanting the exact opposite. I am putting these fingers to work on the keyboard 👨‍💻! I'm excited about this blog I want to deliver some positivity by challenging myself with finally making one.
```
const growth = [ 'experience', 'trying', 'doing' ]
```
I have been growing in new areas personally and mentally lately just by doing the following: **EXPERIENCING**, **TRYING**, and most importantly **DOING**👈(🚨important word🚨).

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/pym838v6izchy61gh80r.png)

You may ask yourself "What in the world does this have to do with coding and why is it on here ??". Ahhh great question! I'm glad you asked and I will jump right into it!

Getting into programming was an industry I knew I was going to be in at some point. While I was wrapping up my last semester at Brooklyn College for a degree in Business Management, I wasn't satisfied with it mentally and found myself drawn to tech each and every day. You would think I should be over the moon about getting a degree? Well, I wasn't unfortunately. I wanted to **EXPERIENCE** more than the standard. I couldn't wait for 'some point' to happen, it would never if I did. I pushed aside the worry of disappointing others and their opinions and acted on it by **DOING** making the transition.

That was a little over a year and a half ago. In the time passed I entered into and completed Lambda School, which is a rigorous 9-month long program where students learn to code by building complex projects with other students. It’s backed by folks like _Y-Combinator_, _Google Ventures_, and _Stripe_. The amount of new tech and concepts I have learned and became proficient in are still crazy to comprehend.

Languages / Frameworks I can effectively work with:

* JavaScript
* ReactJS/Redux
* Gatsby
* Node.js
* Knex
* Express
* GraphQL 
* GraphQL-Yoga
* Prisma
* Apollo Client
* Python
* HTML5
* CSS 

If you said in a year's time I would be a Software Engineer and that I could confidently apply for dev roles with those skills. I would say, 'you are lyingggggg!'. ![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/99qa38vsnycwrd8npjss.gif)

Well, I can and have been diligently in search of a promising dev role. While I am doing that, I want to motivate and give back to anyone that is starting to get into web development in whatever path they are taking. It is possible you just have to make the push and **TRY**! It just requires consistently **DOING**, there is no secret to it.

Some advice I can give on things I have been **DOING** that has been accelerating growth and working for me personally. I will do this by revisiting those words I mentioned earlier.

1. **EXPERIENCE** - This has been valuable to my day-to-day with programming and out of programming. Why does this matter? Well, the whole idea of changing careers or starting a new one with web development can be overwhelming. ![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/uxsh60nbv08cgk262obg.gif)It doesn't have to be. Be present, be open-minded to being confused and wrong. You are learning it's going to happen all the time (This is not a lie). Just experience and recognize when it's happening and not stress out. There will be many pitfalls and growth. SPOILER ALERT !!🚨 There is more growth than pitfalls! 

2. **TRY** - Test yourself and try new things to experience, you won't regret it. For example, I can be very reserved and introverted and would overthink trying to meet new people, reaching to others when I needed help, or even reaching out to someone via LinkedIn or Twitter for job opportunities. I did a complete 360. I tried it and didn't let my thoughts stop my growth. I started out by reaching out to new people(what is the worst thing that can happen? I don't get an answer?). Realizing that, it becomes a fun **EXPERIENCE**. There are so many welcoming and great people I've connected with that I have met lately just by **TRYING**. So give it a shot!   

3. **DOING** -  The actionable outlier! If programming is something you want to get into, then go for it! It will be the only way to push forward. Just stay consistent by **DOING**. You don't need to over complicate it and try to learn 10 things all at once. Just work with one, perfect it, and become proficient. **HINT**: **TRY** to build and ship 🚀 cool projects😃! That's all you need, just have a plan!

If you have read this far you will see I overcame the writer's block and made it happen by **TRYING**! I enjoyed putting my thoughts down, I can't wait to dive into more tech-related topics. For my next blog, I think I will dive into micro-services and the value they bring to programming!

Thanks for reading! 

-Nicholas (I code things and writing isn't my forte🤓)