Boring History#
Skip to Lessons if you want. This part is boring and might be a bit technical if you don’t understand coding-related terms at all.
In the late 2010s, I used to tinker with Blogger themes. That was the only option I had back then, as I hadn’t yet had the chance to host my own site. So, I would sit there and examine the PHP code. At the time, I didn’t even know PHP as a language, but the code was understandable enough.
With a few Google searches, I could make changes and figure out the sections I needed to modify. In 2017, I hosted my first-ever WordPress site. It was a product site that I had created. But WordPress had too many options that you didn’t really need if you wanted to learn to code. You could get almost everything done by just installing plugins or using the built-in options WordPress provided.
In late 2022, I still remember the first time I tried to build something in HTML seriously. I was free one night and thought to myself, “I can try to replicate this code.” It was a step-by-step tutorial on creating a colorful box grid with HTML and CSS.
I remember having to download VS Code to be able to write the code properly. I eventually spent about 30 minutes creating what was shown in the tutorial. I wouldn’t say I was hooked, but I was definitely interested in learning more. So, in the next few days, I spent time learning HTML from a YouTube series. It was 15 to 20 lessons, from basics to advanced. I would complete one lesson each day. I did the same for CSS.
After learning both HTML and CSS, I spent a month just experimenting with the things I’d learned. I created many pages, used different styles, and experimented a lot.
Then I started to learn JavaScript. I struggled a bit with it, as it was the first time I was actually programming something. But I kept trying and eventually understood enough to register myself on Fiverr. I wasn’t trying to make money from it, but I got an order that paid me $80—even when my asking price was $10—which made me happy. Still, I knew there was a lot more to learn.
So, I learned React.js. I spent a lot of time on it, as it felt so different from vanilla JavaScript, but the effort was worth it. After that, learning Next.js or other frameworks—as I like to call them—isn’t that hard. That’s my journey to becoming a web developer.
Lessons#
Understand the Fundamentals#
I learned a few things through this journey: I shouldn’t focus too much on the language itself. The language can be anything. What matters is having a fundamental understanding of how the code works.
I used to think, “How can anyone remember all this code?” You don’t need to. You just need to understand the fundamentals. Once you know them, even if you forget the exact syntax, you can always search for it easily because you understand how the code works.
Use Your Logic#
We all have logic given to us by God; use it. If things are breaking, they can be explained logically. If you have gaps in your logic, spend time searching for the missing pieces. Because once you collect them, you’ll have foolproof logic that’s hard to break.
In life, it’s the same. People think that having faith is all that matters, but they are wrong. God is logical. The universe God has created is logical. Everything that happens in this universe can be logically explained; the things that can’t be explained yet are simply because we are missing some pieces that create gaps in our understanding.
A.I. Is Stupid#
Here’s more on A.I. if you want to dive deeper into this topic.
A.I. can’t think. LLMs are fundamentally flawed by design. They are good at predicting the next token—whether it’s the next pixel in an image or the next word in a sentence. But that doesn’t mean they are smart.
LLMs are nothing more than a modern Chinese room experiment. Don’t give them too much credit or control over your life.
Use them as tools. They are good at doing certain repeatable tasks over and over again, but that’s it. Don’t think you’re not smart enough to figure out solutions to problems you deem too complex in life. It might take time, but you’ll always surprise yourself with what you can achieve through deliberate practice over a long period.
Takeaways#
There are more lessons in there, but I want to keep this short so you get the gist. As I said before, you’re smarter than you think; don’t underestimate yourself.
Take steps to live the life you want, but first think carefully about what kind of life you truly desire. Take action. Learn more—it will change your perspective. When your perspective changes, you can adjust your course to live the kind of life you want and keep moving in the right direction.
In the end, this post wasn’t really about coding. It’s just a story of how things evolve slowly over time. You might not have a strong passion for something at first, but that thing can become an important part of your life and teach you many lessons along the way.
