“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”~ Lao Tzu.
This saying might seem a tad overused and generic but that’s because it’s an accurate depiction of life (my life at least). I’m going to share how I took the first step of an endless journey of sweat, growth and crippling back pains.
Getting into Software Engineering
Me venturing into the world of tech was a no-brainer, as I had shown great interest in doing so for as long as I can remember. However, the circumstances surrounding how that came to be, is a whole other story. Walk with me…
So the year was 2023, and a handsome(subjective😅), resourceful young man had to miss a year of uni because of personal issues. During that time however, I had to make the most of it and tried to equip myself with as many skills as I could and hone the ones I already had. I also gained an interest in music production and worked at it with support from my parents.
It was during this time that my dad chanced upon an ALX ad on facebook and told me to apply so I could pursue tech on the side. I went through the application process, received the acceptance email a week later and was ecstatic to start my tech journey.
Thus, the ultimate coding master was born👨🏽💻😈…. Or so I thought
Life in ALX: Trials and Triumphs
“Do hard things” ~ ALX
You’d think it’s just one of those motivational slogans until you’re in too deep and are yelling “WHY’S THE CHECKER STILL REDDD!!” when you’re an hour into debugging code that is running perfectly and realize a day later that it’s because you left out a vital comment in your C program.
In the first month of ALX SE, I was soo relaxed and nonchalant because the tasks and projects were extremely easy and then had it in the back of my mind that this is going to be a breeeeeze *cue wind sound effects 💨*. I couldn’t be any more delusional and almighty C was the first to remind me that this wasn’t going to be easy.
Fast-forward, three(3) months into the program I was slowly adjusting to the pace of the program while others crumbled under pressure and left(can’t blame them though). Then, the worst thing that can happen to a dev or SE student happened; my laptop wasn’t booting. Anxiety set in as well because we were in the middle of our “Shell Project”. I found out that it was an SSD issue, so I checked a lot of online stores and asked around but couldn’t get any because apparently, that type of SSD isn’t common.
I was in need of a quick/temporary fix and found one but that didn’t last long enough and it started having complications which made my laptop extremely slow, but i pushed through even though I was deferred because I missed the minimum average for the month by less than three percent(3%). That fueled my ambition to bounce back stronger. I crossed the ‘gates of shell’ and then created my first portfolio project with my team and we SMASHED it.
Through all the struggle, sleepless nights and my laptop STILL not being in good condition, these were the wins that kept me going and motivated me to “DO HARD THINGS”.
Finding a local tech community: Slightly Techie arc 🥷🏽
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” ~ Socrates
This saying rang true, when I realized front-end was slowly becoming a bane of mine. Initially, I had decided that I was going to specialize in backend in the ALX program but then found myself wanting to be good at frontend as well. This prompted me to merge my goal of finding a tech community and removing this thorn on my side(frontend) and roads led me to joining a short-term tech program and specializing in frontend. This began my Slightly Techie Program arc.
I joined this bootcamp with the aim of being more grounded in the fundamentals of frontend i.e HTML, CSS, JS and that I did. I hit the ground running and left no room for mediocrity while juggling ALX on the side. Was it easy, of course not; but it was a necessary struggle if I wanted to see results.
At the end of the program, not only had I found myself in a community and solved my ‘frontend-phobia’, but I also ended up deciding to specialize in frontend instead of backend in ALX.
The thorn in my side ended up being that of a rose’s.
I ended up getting a recommendation through Slightly Techie and I’m currently a front-end dev for a startup while I work towards completing ALX.
Conclusion
I’m not going to sit here and give one of those trope-filled motivational speeches, but my story so far should speak volumes to anyone IN or looking to venture into tech.
It’s not an easy ride; far from it. There is no destination, only an endless journey with a few pitstops and flat tyres. The onus however, lies on YOU to keep going even when it gets rough. My story definitely isn’t a “Happily ever after” either… hell!, it’s not even smooth sailing at the moment cus i’m barely scraping by with my beat-up laptop. Just learn to celebrate the little wins as much as the big ones and trust me, it makes the journey a whole lot more fun.
And yeah, one more thing. Don’t compete with anyone, just aspire to be a better version of yourself everyday.
If you made it to the end, thanks for reading this whole ‘yap-fest’. I hope it was a fun read and look forward to giving an update a few years from now.
Tschuss👋🏽.