My Mum reminded me this week that I’m still giving the same answer I always have. When she asked me the same question around the age I started school, I replied:

When I answered this question last time, I wasn’t sure of the specifics on where my education at Dev Academy would take me and not much has changed in the following 20 days.

All probably good material to investigate during first Core one on one catch up.

I had already started a list of projects that inspired me when I started studying last year. These ideas arrive spontaneously, fully formed, and as inspiration can’t be bottled, I jot them down immediately or risk forgetting.

They range from the absurd, “Analogue Time Converter”. A website where you input the position of two hands of a clock, and it outputs the time in 12-hour format (something I’ve always struggled with!)

To the more practical, “ReCaptcha for election polling”. Polls are getting worse at predicting elections and maybe the same system that helped us translate every text on the web might also be harnessed to bridge the widening gap between data and reality.

Whilst most are still ambitious, some are coming into focus – I’m sure I’ll be able to make “Emoji-Cast” – a simpler way to read weather data – after our work on APIs next fortnight.

I know I do not want to be an employer again but need ambitious projects to hold my interest. Ideally, I would end up in a profession where I can make my mark or leave a signature, catering to my need to create and find my own path. That said, studying at Dev Academy has me fully drinking the Cool-Aide and I’m genuinely entertaining the idea of forgoing financial success for a more personally meaningful path in the education sector.

As mentioned previously fervour can lead to flakiness. I have a tendency to dive in right in to new hobbies/studies but quit soon after with only a shallow understanding. With the pace of learning at Dev Academy mirroring my own, I actually see this as a potential advantage as I tend to fully absorb myself in any new fascination for a short but intense time period.

Looking at through the handbook for the next few weeks, I’m finding the format appealing. I tend to enjoy learning when I’m given a practical project and left alone to choose the method of getting there. I need to continue to rework weekly projects into personal projects to stretch and apply the skills I learn on campus.

A weakness I failed to identify during my first blog is an inclination towards frustration when severely challenged. As most of the course work so far was reinvestigating concepts I had learnt before, I hadn’t had the chance to see this weakness rear its head. Going forward, I need to focus on being present in-order to notice diagnose frustration before I succumb to it.

I have the genre of anxiety that makes speaking to people one on one really hard. I also have the one that makes speaking in a group setting really hard. Paradoxically, I can take over and struggle to be a team member instead of taking the reins. I see a lot of value in learning how to successfully take the role as navigator rather than taking charge as well as giving into driving rather than anxiety.

I’ve noticed some fatigue more recently. I am more resistant to the work on Saturdays after five days on campus. After a daylong break I’m ready for a more productive Sunday push. Whilst I have generally acclimatised to having a new schedule well, I’m finding seven days pushes this. I’m sure I’m going to have a few of those weeks over the next nine and I need to remind myself in that moment that it’s only one bad day of one bad week. Whilst it may pay to find alternative ways to regroup faster, it’s also only nine weeks.

This hesitancy is only magnified when I save Core for last. Reflecting, I think I need to remember to complete my core tasks as fast as possible. That might mean partnering up for peer programming early or completing listening/looping exercises on the Monday if, and when possible. Ideally, I would like to spend the next several weekend’s stretching my technical capabilities rather than rushing core responsibilities.

As mentioned, if I think I’ve got a solution I struggle not to take over the keyboard and mouse. Zoom out and you’ll find a similar patterns historically in both professional and social settings. I have a naturally loud, baritone voice and this has gotten me in trouble all through school. Where somebody else might present an idea as a small interjection, I can do the same to result in massive disruption. Before Dev Academy I was already working on this and can at least recognise the faux pas I was blind to before. There’s a lot of power in a simple “I’m sorry, what were you saying before I interrupted?”

Further progress is to be made by successfully remaining in the moment and fully listening (rather than waiting) before responding. Take a pause, have a breath, whether that’s to stave off the anxiety, or prevent another foot from entering mouth.

I also see the value in a greater self-awareness. Namely, to increase my capability to investigate if I am running into a roadblock because I need a break or if it’s a learning opportunity to be tackled for a little bit longer.

Lastly, I didn’t think I would get so much out of reflection. It has been a surprising realisation given it was one of the Core teachings I had an involuntary scepticism about. Given I’m only five weeks in I’m sure there are ways to go, but I’m looking forward to honing this new skill as well as mastering it outside of Dev Academy.

Without overwriting anything previously identified:

Now that I’ve reached the edges of my understanding of JavaScript, I’m going to ask questions that are un-smart. There may be exercises or portions of exercises where I will need my hand held throughout. A recent example was JS-Olympics, Event 1 – Bulk-Up, Gerard had to spell out the entire answer and even after I had the working solution, I still didn’t understand why it worked.

I pressed on.

Later in the Kata, parts of the same code pieces were reimagined through other exercises. Although I didn’t understand the JS lego pieces in combination, once separated out everything was a little more legible. By the end of the week I understood the original solution Gerard penned and if asked again to complete the challenge in another context I have faith I would arrive there on my own steam.

I am not sure what I want to do after bootcamp, and I would like help answering this question. I honestly didn’t expect to get in and so hadn’t entertained the question. Now that we’re here it’s probably time to matchmake the industry and I.

In the past few weeks I’ve not only gotten better at asking for help when I need it but presearching my questions before I ask. That is, making sure I ask something that is actually:

• Problematic, have I done enough alone? Have I tried something else first? Is it syntax?
• Specific, AKA formulated using smaller code snippets, forgetting wider programmatic issues.
• Formatted, whether that means using backticks or correct terminology and jargon.
• Well-researched, do I even know what I’m asking for yet? Or do I need to consult the MDN.

Basically, going in with a good understanding of what I’m not understanding.

Again, I would like to be more present and take a moment before rushing to action. I have been called ‘speccy’ to mean I exhibit a few features of those deeper on the spectrum than is neuronormative. I can come across as rude, frank, or overly literal, and I can misunderstand the times when ‘reading between the lines’ is implied. Just taking this moment to digest and fully listen has already made a world of difference in my personal life and I’m sure I can take some of those practises into campus.

I should be friendly, but without getting too chummy. Just because I know one of the facilitators doesn’t mean all the staff will appreciate informality. I should let relationships on campus be built off mutual respect rather than a rapport of clowning about.