It’s been a year since I’ve started coding. December 6th is my one year GitHub-iversary, and December 11th, is my six month anniversary with Flatiron School. It’s amazing to reflect on the last year and all I’ve learned and the communities that I’ve found around me. I’ve found people who support me, make me laugh, and listen to me when I’m frustrated or when I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve found a new passion for a journey I never expected to take–a beautiful new world that I am so excited to explore. In honor of these anniversaries, I’ve come up with my top ten list of things I’ve learned and found meaningful as a Code Newbie.

Find an experienced developer who’s willing to mentor you.

When you’re new, you sometimes feel nervous, or awkward, or too ashamed to ask questions. If you have someone you trust, that comfort will come and it will feel so much easier. This instagram post says it all.

Find the program that works best for your learning.

If you’ve followed or read anything about my journey, you know that Flatiron School, has been at the top of my list in terms of coding schools and resources. I tried a number of other programs–see this post and this post– and Flatiron’s program has always been the best for my learning style and has given me the community and push that I need.

Find a community that supports all your needs.

Not only do I have Flatiron School, I also have Moms Can: Code. This co-learning group has supported me both as a Code Newbie and as a mom. There are so many challenges that come with motherhood. Adding career change and becoming a woman in tech seems like a lot. But with this group, everything seems possible.

Don’t sell yourself short.

It frequently feels like I’ve learned nothing. But if I force myself to look back a year ago, I can see that I didn’t even know the difference between frontend and backend, I had no idea what Ruby was, and I was still a part-time college English teacher. Reflecting on where you were a week, month, or year ago has helped me to focus on how far I’ve come.

Make Google your bff.

Even the best programmers have to look things up. Learn early that this should be part of your everyday life. Consider it a favor if your coding program forces you to find outside resources to help you solve the problem. And don’t even feel bad for having to look something up.

Make connections.

One of the greatest parts of becoming part of the tech world has been meeting people on social media and at conferences. This growing network contains a wealth of information that I could never find as a mom of four young kids in a small town.

Talk through your code aloud.

One of the most terrifying parts of coding is explaining my code to someone else. When I have project reviews I have to walk someone through my code, refactor, and answer any questions. I’m going to be really honest here: last time I totally froze. She didn’t ask any of the things I had studied and expected, and my heart shatter into nineteen million pieces and then each of the pieces ran in a different direction. But practicing talking about your code aloud can help you to see where the gaps are. You can say things like, “I wrote this code to do X and it connects to Y, which is Z.” If you don’t know what those variables are, you know you have some more studying to do. But if you have the chance, it’s even better if you can find a more experienced dev who will listen to you walk through it.

Keep it consistent.

One of the hardest things to do is to walk away from the code for a while and then come back to it days or weeks later. If you don’t exercise that coding muscle, it starts to fade away. Someone asked me how I do it with four kids, and the short answer is that I try to schedule in the time everyday and I’m disciplined about it. You can watch my video response here. I’ve coded everyday since January 1, 2018. I kept thinking I’d take a break, but I never did. And I’m ok with that.

Find meaning behind your drive.

There are few things better than doing a job you love and getting paid for it. I’m not there yet, but I love coding and thinking about how my code can affect the future. For me, I’ve always been driven by the desire to help people, and I see a clear connection between coding and helping marginalized groups. So on the tough days, or the days where my house is a disaster and I think I should really be doing something about that, I focus on why I’m doing it.

There’s room for creativity in every aspect of coding.

It’s important to me that I merge my background in the humanities with my new career trajectory. And for some reason, there’s a whisper out there that says coding isn’t creative, that if you aren’t doing frontend or UI, that there’s little room for creativity. But coding is storytelling, just in a different language. It’s the media we consume. It helps us to define who we are to others. And when you create something, you’re taking a user along for the journey that you defined. Your methods are your poetry, and your program is your novel.

I’ve never been the smartest person in the room, but I have been the hardest worker or the most determined to achieve a goal. This past year I rediscovered the confidence and passion that had been snuffed out by a single moment in my life two years ago. And this journey that I’m on has been an amazing eye-opener into the possibilities of what life can be, of who I can be, and of the communities that I can be a part of. So thank you for being a part of that.