Here I am, attempting to learn how to code for the fifth or sixth time in my life.
I’ve taken courses. I’ve watched tutorial videos. I’ve read step-by-step walkthroughs. But every time, without fail, as soon as it starts to get tricky, I give up and move on to the next thing. It’s not that I don’t have the determination to learn how to do it. If I really wanted to, I know I could. It’s just that I lose interest quickly.
I remember the first few weeks learning how to play the guitar. Quite frankly, they sucked. You feel like you're getting nowhere, everything you play sounds off, and you can’t play any of the songs you love. Learning something new is frustrating, and it’s only when you reach a certain level that it becomes enjoyable. This is true of any skill—learning an instrument, exercising, knitting, and of course, coding.
Yet, my experience with learning to code this time has been different. In the past, if I didn’t understand something, I had no one to turn to to ask for help. I pretty much had two options: go digging through pages and pages of Google searches to find an answer, or give up. And give up I did, every single time.
However, now I have different tools accessible to me. ChatGPT has made it incredibly easy for me to understand where I go wrong when I make a mistake. While I’m still learning the basics, this greatly alleviates the burden of learning something new and makes the entire experience more comfortable, as if there’s a safety net underneath me.
It’s possible that I will lose interest in a few weeks' time, but I have faith that if I quit this time, it won’t be because I wasn’t able to get over the hump. If you’re like me and have contemplated learning to code in the past, perhaps consider giving it another shot. You might be surprised at the extent to which AI tools like ChatGPT can assist in teaching you how to code.
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Here I am, attempting to learn how to code for the fifth or sixth time in my life.
I’ve taken courses. I’ve watched tutorial videos. I’ve read step-by-step walkthroughs. But every time, without fail, as soon as it starts to get tricky, I give up and move on to the next thing. It’s not that I don’t have the determination to learn how to do it. If I really wanted to, I know I could. It’s just that I lose interest quickly.
I remember the first few weeks learning how to play the guitar. Quite frankly, they sucked. You feel like you're getting nowhere, everything you play sounds off, and you can’t play any of the songs you love. Learning something new is frustrating, and it’s only when you reach a certain level that it becomes enjoyable. This is true of any skill—learning an instrument, exercising, knitting, and of course, coding.
Yet, my experience with learning to code this time has been different. In the past, if I didn’t understand something, I had no one to turn to to ask for help. I pretty much had two options: go digging through pages and pages of Google searches to find an answer, or give up. And give up I did, every single time.
However, now I have different tools accessible to me. ChatGPT has made it incredibly easy for me to understand where I go wrong when I make a mistake. While I’m still learning the basics, this greatly alleviates the burden of learning something new and makes the entire experience more comfortable, as if there’s a safety net underneath me.
It’s possible that I will lose interest in a few weeks' time, but I have faith that if I quit this time, it won’t be because I wasn’t able to get over the hump. If you’re like me and have contemplated learning to code in the past, perhaps consider giving it another shot. You might be surprised at the extent to which AI tools like ChatGPT can assist in teaching you how to code.
