image source — unsplash.com

My experience during this period has been overwhelming. Did I think I would ever make it to Day 100? No, I didn’t.

My Journey

On the 25th of June, I decided to commit to the #100DaysofCode challenge. Making that decision has been one of the best I have made this year.

100DaysofCode is an initiative by Alexander Kallaway to help people learning how to code be more consistent. The goal is to code every day for at least an hour for 100 days. Interesting, right?

me right now — giphy.com

My Struggles/Failures:

I started out all excited and super pumped, but I guess it didn’t turn out to be all that. I got frustrated, at some point, trying to keep up with the challenge and, not just that, also discovered that coding is not for the weak-minded.

There were times where I would say, "No, I ain’t doing this no more," but I had a goal to reach, so I buckled up. freeCodeCamp had me at my worst times because I found some challenges hard, spent a couple of days on others, but the good news is that I pulled through.

Failure will hit you, but don’t give up when this happens  —  Gift

Tutorials and MOOCs Completed

I embarked on this journey with two things in mind: become a better developer and be more confident.

• FreeCodeCamp — Front-End Development Course
• JavaScript 30 — By Wes Bos
• CodeCademy — JavaScript and PHP Track
• FlexBox.io — FlexBox tutorial by Wes Bos
• Web Developer Boot-camp — By Colt Steele, Udemy Best Selling Course

Technology Stack Learned

• jQuery — Intermediate
• JavaScript — Intermediate
• Node.js— Basics
• Express — Basics
• PHP/Laravel— Intermediate

Projects Completed

• Simple Portfolio made with Bootstrap: My Portfolio
• Javascript Drumkit
• Random Quote Machine
• Tribute Page
• Javascript Clock with CSS
• Type Ahead from Javascript30 challenge: Type Ahead Js
• Wikipedia Viewer
• Weather App
• Custom Video Player
• HTML Canvas: Draw like never before

Check out My GitHub and CodePen for more mini-projects that I worked on.

What This Challenge Taught Me

That all that glitters is not gold —  Yes, I literally see ads like, "Learn this in 6 weeks and become a Pro!" and I’m like, "Yeah, I can do that, but I sincerely doubt that’s possible, because I spent over 13 weeks doing this challenge and I don’t see myself as a Pro yet, but I’m getting there." If you really want to learn, stick to a goal and make sure you pull it off.

That Consistency is a gift  —  The power of consistency can never be overemphasized. It takes will and power to stick to a goal, especially one like this.

That Rome wasn’t built in a day — Yes, you have to work hard to complete this challenge. There will be times when you want to give up, but one key to success is consistency and self discipline.

That the community will sustain you—  I had down times, times when I just wanted to go home and sleep, but when I remembered I had to update my progress on Twitter or check other people's updates to see how far they had gone, I just had to push myself. Also, the wonderful community just pushes and supports you every single time you feel like giving up.

Freecodecamp Front-End Certificate

Helpful Resources

• Web Developer Boot Camp
• My #100DaysofCode Log
• A Trello Board to keep track of your activities
• JavaScript30 — My Review here
• freeCodeCamp
• My Progress Blog

This is a Journey for me and I’m glad I picked up the courage to start. A little advice to my friends already doing #100DaysofCode or basically people that might be interested in taking on this challenge.

Just start…and when you do, STAY MOTIVATED! Don’t give up.