How i started coding as a teen and where i am now
Published: 2020-06-13 10:31:32

# The beginning
![credits: medium](https://miro.medium.com/max/2620/1*U-moh2EpPntprUBiugSuBQ.png)
I accidentally started coding at the age of 13 when I saw in a science mag for youth this cool tech called ARDUINO, Arduino is an open-source hardware and software company, project and user community that designs and manufactures single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits for building digital devices that use c++ as the default programming language, then I started making some researches on this language called c++, this marked the start of an unforgettable journey
# Hello World
![credits: 123RF](https://previews.123rf.com/images/dundanim/dundanim1509/dundanim150900023/45267293-win-or-succes-concept-joyful-man-happy-for-his-luck.jpg)
I still remember that day when after days of struggling I finally manage to link MinGW with Codeblocks and compiled my first program, this was a wonderful moment in my journey as it was the first program I ever made witch gave an output.
# Hello problems
![credits:Masterfile stock photos](https://image1.masterfile.com/getImage/NzAwLTAwMjY5NDU5ZW4uMDAwMDAwMDA=ANw-$A/700-00269459en_Masterfile.jpg)
After completing the hello world program, I felt invincible as if I could do anything, god...how wrong was I.
C++ is clearly not an easy programming language for a complete beginner like me at that time, I felt so worthless sometimes and almost gave up.
# Others
![credits:](https://psychology.iresearchnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Envy-300x235.jpg)
Another problem I faced when I started coding was: OTHERS, I tried to compare myself with others so much that it almost destroyed my love for coding
# Learning too much, coding less
![credits: canstock photos](https://comps.canstockphoto.com/man-programming-stock-image_csp46730366.jpg)
When I started learning to code, I wanted to have as much knowledge as possible and already start making Arduino project, but later I found out that this approach was, well...super duper wrong, I sometimes skipped exercises on tutorials so that I can  just complete the chapter and go to another without a problem, this was the source of all my confidence problem
# Making projects
![credits: globalia](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/JpXDr9Hmxrr2-ss9Gm5auCGXLqnUCSvGtgrvTx1-lgVBmIqB6XPHDX5qltMs-jZp78gsDN0YlBaBkehvlXtBxVTnXmVPyPsfTLLIlEp09cHOjFHSDia2Qg)
Later when I discovered what I was doing wrong, I started making projects with c++ as I was starting to completely fall in love with the language.
# To git or not to git
![credits: medium](https://miro.medium.com/max/4400/1*oMC83-7fB27k1tTMxDfRaQ.png)
I later started learning other programming languages such as javascript and PHP as I also wanted to build cool websites and brag about them to my friends, this is the time when I discovered Github and this technology called 'version control', which could make me manage and view the current, past and upcoming versions of my apps, as I had nothing of real relevance which would push me to use this tech, I just ignored it.
# Google Code-in and the power of Linux
![credits: GCI official website](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XrCMWY6Dfk8/Xd2sUDx8gzI/AAAAAAAAAWw/2xRYBIe05xcnKg615wTFlaknR4Wi7WN3gCEwYBhgL/s1600/code_in_10yrs_full_text_PS_800px_RGB.jpg)
Google Code-in(GCI) is a global competition for high school and middle school students that introduces to contributing to open-source, I decided to participate and do tasks for an organization called 'fedora project'. Fedora is a distribution of Linux, so I had to install it so that I could complete tasks easily, i first installed ubuntu to test if it dual boots windows 10 and after a while, I decided to keep Ubuntu as my default desktop and development OS.
GCI made me feel confident i my skills because at the end of the competition i was in the leaderboard(pretty much the top 20) in my organization. 
#Problems I face as a teen coder
![](https://previews.123rf.com/images/tatyanagl/tatyanagl1706/tatyanagl170600205/81556325-abuse-sad-teen-outdoors-unhappy-teenager.jpg)
###Not being taken seriously:
![](https://img.picturequotes.com/2/870/869987/if-theres-anything-i-hate-more-than-not-being-taken-seriously-its-being-taken-too-seriously-quote-1.jpg)
When you are 15 y.o and want to ask for help or collaboration to a nearby developer, nobody takes you seriously and just thinks you are just YASK(Yet Another Script Kiddie) who only knows to display text and thinks he is great, this is a very big issue I have faced
### Not having time
![](https://nationalpostcom.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/timeobsessed.jpg)
When you code and still go to school you almost always lack the time or the energy to code anything relevant
# Some projects i have made
- [A clone of the pacman game using the lua programming language](https://github.com/snow-blade/pac-men)
- [A todo chrome extension with js](https://github.com/snow-blade/todo-extension) and a [todo api](https://github.com/snow-blade/DENO-SHOP)
- [A weather forecast web app](https://github.com/snow-blade/gci_forecast) 
- [A database engine with c](https://github.com/snow-blade/Database-engine)
- [A set of custom linux commands](https://github.com/snow-blade/custom_linux)
- [A personal portfolio](https://github.com/snow-blade/portfolio)
- [A shodan Scanner](https://github.com/snow-blade/Shodan-term)
- [A spell checker for writters](https://github.com/snow-blade/spell_checker)
- [etc...](https://github.com/snow-blade?tab=repositories)


Thanks for reading this article,i hope to see you soon in an upcoming article