Last night was the course orientation for my bootcamp at Burlington Code Academy. The class starts Monday.
Preparing for this bootcamp has left me reminiscing and unsurprisingly comparing this prep-season with starting a thru-hike.
In the same way I began a hike by looking at a map with city names, parks, and other highlights that did not mean much to me, I’ve started this coding journey with a syllabus full of languages and concepts like Javascript, Application Frameworks, and Agile Development that are somewhat or totally unfamiliar.
It is intimating, but exciting to know that just as unknown towns became memories on the trail, these languages and concepts will become skills that will lead to exciting opportunities.
The course orientation last night gave me a chance to meet my classmates and teachers, and focus on installing the necessary software.
In thru-hiking, getting your pack dialed in or setting your base weight (how much your pack weighs without food or water) is an exciting undertaking. You have to take into account financial costs, personal comfort, your fears, and your overall knowledge of gear. You have to know what you actually need for a successful hike. When I started the Appalachian Trail, I felt prepared, but I had a number of unnecessary or just plain wrong gear. Most of this was due to a lack of knowledge. I also brought along frivolous items for comfort. I was worried what it would be like to live without them: books to read, crocs for camp, extra-clothes, etc.
This experience of learning the hard way has driven me to this bootcamp.
Over the past three months I have worked through the Odin Project’s Foundations Course, Free Code Camp’s Basic Javascript Course, and watched a number of helpful Youtube videos. I already had most of the required software for my bootcamp installed from the Odin Project.
Last night, I was having flashbacks to following the step by step guide on the Odin Project: installing Homebrew, creating an SSH Key for Github, etc. I honestly had no idea what I was doing. The whole time I was thinking…”Man, I hope I don’t blow-up my computer!”. It was a mildly traumatic introduction, but I made it through alive. It has allowed me to learn and stumble through introductory material in preparation for this class.
Watching everyone install software last night with the help of instructors made me happy to not be making this journey alone. On the Appalachian Trail, I met other thru-hikers who told me about different gear, how to hike and resupply smarter, and just be a better hiker. In the same way, I’m excited to be joining a learning community of other aspiring developers and experienced teachers. It is comforting to know they will help me stumble through the learning process and avoid wrong turns and costly mistakes along the way.
I mean, nobody want to spend $300 on the wrong tent, and I want to gain the skills needed to become a web developer in as smooth and timely a manner as possible.