The Start of #100DaysOfCode

131 days ago I started my journey to learn web development. What initially began as a tentative foray into investigating possible employment paths apart from my current career quickly evolved to a love of solving problems and an insatiable desire to learn more. I didn’t code every day, and there were a couple periods of barrenness, yet here I am---much farther along my development journey than when I first started. In the past 131 days I have gone from practically no coding experience to almost completing the front-end certification from Free Code Camp. I have created projects with more complex logic, including my first project in React, and continue to grow at a steady pace.

I decided to join the 100 Days of Code challenge for a couple reasons. First of all, I want to have additional motivation to keep on growing as well as increase the days actively coding. I also do well with gamification of goals and believe that keeping up a streak and seeing the progress toward an end point will further help me to press forward to my current end goal of being hired as a developer. More importantly, I am excited for the community that has grown around the hashtag on Twitter. People sharing their progress, offering to help when others get stuck, and providing encouragement is incredibly motivating. I’m a strong introvert, but getting stuck and feeling like I am all alone is a quick recipe for unhealthy mental and behavioral patterns. It’s important for me to not become isolated.

The act of monitoring waypoints and milestones is important to recognize and celebrate. It helps me to monitor progress, refocus, change course if needed, and maintain or rebuild motivation. I will be logging my progress each day for the next 100 days and intend to post a summary at least once per week. My main goals over the next 100 days are to complete the Free Code Camp front-end certification and hopefully begin whichever certification I decide to start next.

I am looking forward to talking to others who are completing the challenge as we all endeavor forward. Time to get started with my Pomodoro timer project.