Week five was tough! We learnt a lot and at first it was a challenged. However, with a recap near the end of the week and breaking down problems with my pair for the week really helped me understand these topics more. This week was more about the perseverance mindset more than the code and it has been very valuable.
Kyle Simpson guest talk.
This week we were blessed to have a talk from .js expert and author of the 'You Don't Know JS' series; Kyle Simpson. It was a first showcase of his new talk on imposter syndrome. He was able to explain so well about how we can utilise the feeling of imposter syndrome as a strength. If we feel it, usually, it means we are in a positiuon to be able to learn. It is about forstering the right environment and siezing the feeling to further our knowledge. One piece of advice he gave was; don’t wait to be an expert, if you’re showcasing your work at an expert level its too late. To help yourself develop make sure you showcase your work as early as possible. We should not fear creating the minimum viable product. He then went into the importance of accessibility in code. My personal biggest take away was about his point on wearing glasses. We wear glasses to see and they are an accessibility tool. Without them I personally couldn't experience the world in the same way as others. We take these tools for granted and forget about others who may have other accessibility issues. I intend to make sure I spend time in my career to think about accessibility and try to make sure I help people have full access to this amazing world of tech.Early challenges in the week and overcoming them.
As I mentioned in the little pre-text this week started with some challenges. We were introduced to sequel and specifically PostgreSQL so we began learning a new language of sorts. This part was okay, as far as learning something completely new can go I guess! But on Tuesday and Wednesday specifically we had to put together so much information a lot of it was lost on me and many of the bootcampers. We went from simple requests in Postgres to having to create an entire server and database using Heroku. It was a lot of information and by the end of the day I felt like I had fallen behind. Not to worry! Thursday we spent time re-capping everything we had learnt and working with my amazing pair coder for the week we were able to break down each individual part and get a decent understanding of what we covered on Tuesday and Wednesday. This meant on Friday we were able to complete our hackathon tasks and get a simple server and database working for our own motivational quotes (we felt they were much needed after a tough week). Now I just have to complete my re-cap tasks which I am going into with full confidence. It is amazing how far you can come in just a few days and it is a key reminder of the importance of perseverance and only comparing yourself to yourself and your own progress.My main take away from each day in Week Five.
Monday -
Monday was great. Having such an amazing talk from a javascript expert was amazing. It really helped me understanding the feeling of imposter syndrome and the ways I can turn it into a positive. If I feel it again in the future, I will be sure to use my newfound knowledge.
Tuesday -
Tuesday afternoon was a struggle for me and a lot of the group. However, it was a nice opportunity to work through a tough problem and have the satisfaction of completing a very hard task. It is okay to struggle and how you deal with that struggle is the important part.
Wednesday -
DON’T PANIC! I know it is so obvious but Wednesday showcased the importance of being able to separate your panic from the task. The example explanation was long, and it was tough to remember so I was worried I had fallen behind. However, in the breakout room me and my pair felt the same, so we didn’t panic and went through it step by step and we had success! You don’t have to know everything instantly; take your time and you’ll get there!
Thursday -
Thursday filled the knowledge I missed from Wednesday. Another obvious take away for Thursday; make sure to re-cap. When you look back on things they become much clearer!
Friday -
Friday reminded me (with the success we had in the hackathon) to take each day as it comes. Earlier in the week was tough but in just a few days things were feeling much better. I felt very happy going into the weekend.
If you've got this far, thank you! Week Five was probably the toughest so far. If you want to follow along with my journey please do. If you want to contact me for any reason also the best place to connect with me is Twitter - @_pattisoj. You can also find my GitHub here. I hope you have a good week and, as always, happy coding!