Hello everyone! and welcome to my first blog ever. Today I'll be sharing about my initial introduction to programming via #100daysofcode challenge, twitter, and why every beginner should attempt this challenge at least once. Let's get started 😃
About me
If you don't already know, my name is Prit Kalariya. And I'm a second year BCA undergraduate student. I'm currently learning python 🐍 and also have experience working with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It hasn't been long since I started programming, but I always try to learn and help others.
Initial introduction to programming
My first introduction to programming was when I started being active on twitter. I never thought of installing twitter, until scrolling on Instagram all day long during lockdown started becoming depressing. Twitter was a totally new experience for me. After a few days and having started following the right accounts, I realized that this was a perfect opportunity for me do something new and productive, free from regular college, assignments and presentations.
Then I saw a few developers making this awesome CSS art with just html and CSS. Which was pretty impressive & shocking for me, because I already knew those languages and never thought I can do so much with it. Those CSS illustrations was something that got me into coding. And this all was done with one thing always attached to every tweet I ever saw, which was #100daysofcode.
What is #100daysofcode ?
100daysofcode is a challenge which aims at boosting your consistency. Wherein the participant is required to code for at least an hour each day, for the next 100 days. It really doesn't matter which programming language, project or fancy framework your are working on, or even trying to learn something completely new, the main aim is that you make coding an everyday habit.
For more info you can check the official website of 100daysofcode.
My experience
I was so impressed with all the work and people helping each other that I decided to commit myself to this challenge. And of-course I'm no different than any other normal human being, which means I surely have managed to fail this challenge not once, but 3 times. Let me give you a short review of my journey 👇
Attempt 1
First thing I needed to do was brush-up my basics so I started with Responsive Web Design Certification course on freeCodeCamp. It is a 100% free course and is totally beginner friendly. I started spending about an hour daily, but couldn't be consistent enough.
Mistakes that I made during my first attempt was that I simply followed the tutorial and not experimenting with my knowledge or not practically implementing it. Hence I couldn't continue it for more than 20 days 😅
Attempt 2
I restarted the challenge, but this time I tried to implement my knowledge by making different versions of the apps present in the tutorial. Dog app became Cat app and so on. Even this time I couldn't complete the challenge because I had to do a lot of travelling and the start of new semester in college.
But this time it was different. I could see the improvement in myself.
Best motivation is self improvement.
Attempt 3
I was back home and far from all the distractions. I took note of all the past mistakes I made & improved myself. By this time I had started making pretty decent CSS artwork and focused mainly on learning JavaScript. The problems I faced this time was, I couldn't see my self growing. Learning JavaScript turned out to be pretty hard for me. And even after trying various methods, I eventually quit.
Quitting is not giving up, it's choosing to focus your attention on something more important.
Attempt 4
This time I wanted to try my hands on python 🐍. So I took up this challenge and started learning python, and I loved it. And when you do something you love, you are sure to succeed at it. And I was finally able to complete my #100daysofcode challenge on 31st Dec, 2020.
To succeed you must never stop trying.
Now I can proudly say that I have learned from my mistakes and completed this challenge. It is important that you celebrate both your success and your failures.
Why should you try it, at-least once ?
As I said earlier, the main aim of this challenge is to make coding a regular habit. It aims at improving your consistency and makes you share your progress with other developers.
Learning programming is a practical task. You won't learn it unless you practice it. And to practice it you should be able to do it regularly.
Sharing your progress is an important part of the learning process. The more you share the more you are likely to help other and yourself. Be apart of the community. The twitter DevCommunity is the best. Everyone is very supportive and always ready to help everyone in every possible way.
I highly recommend every beginner, who is trying to start their journey in the field of development to take this challenge.
All the best 👍
Thank you for reading so far. Very much appreciated😊