digitaldiariescs

[digitaldiariescs]

Day 7: I am not restarting the challenge, I'm starting from where I left

Restarting this challenge will make this whole thing feel more intimidating than it is, and we're trying to make this process easy on your girl. The idea is for me to learn how to be consistent, despite my mental block, it won't be fair.

Today was my first day coding again! I'm working on "Learn CSS Grid by Building a Magazine", and I'm having fun! I did get stuck multiple times though, because it has been so long. I had to figure out how flexbox worked again, and how to use divs and classes. But we're back!

I wish I had a longer update but that is all I did today. I'm relearning the basics of the basics, but it is something. Chugged a redbull and angrily stared at my computer, while struggling with the most basic html and css codes. Had to start somewhere, and I'm glad it was there! About to dive back in again!

image credit: pinterest (check the watermark for the artist!)

[digitaldiariescs]

Where have I been and am I coming back?

Where have I been?

I have been dealing with a lot of personal health issues, along with a workload that is impossible to manage. This lead to a huge disconnect between me and my hobbies, and resulted in me disappearing from... myself. I abandoned coding, reading, art and writing. I abandoned all that made me who I am.

While battling the twists and turns that come with life, I had mistakenly put this blog and coding on the back burner. But I am back now. Or at least trying to be.

If you're reading this, and have stuck around long enough to see my attempt at coming back, I want you to know that I am sincerely grateful to you. For having more confidence in me than I have in myself.

Summer is knocking on my door, and I have just submitted the last of my assignments, sat through my last exam. Now, it is time for me to pick up this abandoned project again. And this project has been my journey with you, so we must continue together.

Where do I begin from (again)?

Responsive Web Design by freeCodeCamp.

My journey started there, and it will begin again from there. I remember having a lot of fun designing web pages, learning about html, css, flexbox, rgb, etc. I think watching my code become something tangible was motivating. And if anything is going to make me continue, it is that same feeling again.

We will either power through the RWD course and then continue with Python, or we will go back and forth between the two. As usual, no concrete plan. We go by feel.

[digitaldiariescs]

Day 6: New Year's, HTML and Practice

Happy new year! I hope you've had a wonderful start to 2025, and the year has been treating you well so far. If you've started your own coding journey, I hope you're having fun!

We're a few days into January, and up until now, things are going well. I have been working through the RWD course, and I have started my own #100DaysofCode challenge today. Day one of the challenge has been successful! I have learned a few new HTML and CSS tricks, that I can't wait to use on my personal project soon.

I'm a falling behind with python, because I've been a little engrossed with the freecodecamp course, but I've learnt that if I want to stay interested, I need to roll with what my heart desires.

With that, I'm going to get on with my coding! I'm sorry this update has been relatively short, it's been a busy day and I am a tad bit overwhelmed. I promise I'll have more to say in the next post!

[digitaldiariescs]

Day 5: RWD, Codeacademy and Notion

It is the last day of 2024, and I want to end the year on a good note. I have made some good progress since my last post. And where else could I possibly flaunt this, aside from on my only (somewhat) active blog)? I hope you are as proud of me, as I am of myself.

Since my last post, I worked through the RWD course on freeCodeCamp. I can feel myself losing interest, however, I am hoping discipline will fight my lack of motivation. I try to get through a couple of steps, at the very least, even on days when I struggle to get out of bed. I'm building the habit of coding a few lines each day, to practice my 'coding' muscle.

I'm enrolled into a beginner python course on Codeacademy, so I've been working through one lesson each day, again, trying to build that habit. I will be honest, I've already skipped a few days, but it's okay. I will be more consistent with it once I'm done with the RWD course. We take it one day at a time.

Now, let me tell you about the highlight of my day: Notion.

I stumbled upon the concept of gamifying life, about a few weeks ago. Essentially, you plan your life on Notion (or a planner of your choosing), and treat it like an RPG game. You turn yourself into the main character of this "game", and you turn mundane tasks into actions required to level up your "character". It's a very cool concept, and I've been trying to use that in my life.

I used the video below by Creative Cove to build my notion, and if you're interested, I highly recommend checking it out, because it is genuinely one of the most wonderful things I have ever seen, and built.

I have already started earning XP, and using it to get rewards. And, to some extent, it has gotten easier to get through my days. We'll see how long this works, but I think, if I'm consistent, I can use this system to become the most productive version of me. But, I'll keep you guys updated.

Just in case I don't post an update tomorrow, I would like to wish you all a very happy new year, and I hope you'll stick around, despite my inconsistencies, to watch me learn the ways around coding. Have a lovely day!

[digitaldiariescs]

Day 4: Getting Back into the groove of things

Consistency and I have never been good friends. Or, even just friends. Procrastination and I have always been old friends. It never does me any good, but habits are hard to change.

A lot has changed since the last time I posted. My personal life is somewhat in shambles, and I have been struggling academically. I have been barely passing my modules, and I'm weeks behind on my lectures. Coding has not been a priority.

However, something changed a few weeks ago. I was in the library with a friend, pulling an all-nighter, when he wanted me to make a website for something we were working on.

He said, "I thought you could turn this mind map into an interactive website", and I felt embarrassed to admit that I didn't remember how to.

That's the thing about coding- its a muscle. Use it regularly, it'll remember how to work. Don't use it, it'll atrophy. And that is what happened. And this little moment in the library was my wake up call.

I have never let setbacks hold me back. I have been knocked over before, and I managed to stand up again. This time is going to be no different. I'm going to make sure of it.

I enrolled into CodeAcademy's Beginner Python course, for a change of pace. And I made some progress on the RWD course by freeCodeCamp- not a lot, but enough to remember some things again.

I know people wait till the year ends to implement changes like this, but why wait a week when I can get a head start into 2025?

I don't want to make promises I can't keep, but I'll try to be more active on this blog as I continue my journey through coding. I hope you'll stick around, maybe even join me.

See you tomorrow dear friends! Let's enter 2024 with a bang!

[digitaldiariescs]

Day 3: Beginning my first ever personal project

I'm honestly getting a little sick of beginning every post with, 'I continued working through the RWD course on freeCodeCamp', because that's pretty much all I do, every single day. And that's what I did today.

However, I started working on a personal project using HTML/CSS! Something that I realised today, as I started planning this project, is that I genuinely have no idea how to apply the knowledge that I've learned through the course. I know how to follow instructions and prompts, but I have no idea how to actually build a responsive web page. But, I think that's going to change as I start working on this project.

I'm trying to be as creative as possible with this project. I'm really going to challenge myself, and I hope this turns out the way I want it to. The main goal is to not take the easy way out with this project. The only way I'll learn is by facing difficulties.

Recently, I've noticed that I've been really struggling with creativity. I used to be an original thinker, but now, it seems as though I have lost the ability to think outside the box. And that is completely unacceptable in my world. Hopefully, this project will spark my creativity, while developing my coding skills.

With that, I shall take your leave and continue scribbling down all my ideas for this project onto my commonplace journal. Yes, my ideas have a real-world, physical home. I encourage you to keep one as well. It's a great way to build a relationship with yourself- bridge the gap between who you are and who you want to be, your thoughts and your feelings.

[digitaldiariescs]

Day 2: Struggling with motivation

It's been a very rough day, if I'm being completely honest. I would like to reiterate that I took up coding purely as a hobby. I'm not making any excuses (maybe I am), but just providing an explanation as to why I might be falling behind a little bit.

I'm a full-time student, studying a niche subject in the biological sciences, and I'm also currently trying to clean up CV so I can start applying for part-time jobs. I'm currently working on a bunch of different projects, and trying to make sure I have time for all my different hobbies. And, I will be honest, I am struggling. I'm falling behind, and it's just been rough overall. Needless to say, I'm struggling with motivation.

Despite everything, I managed to work through some of the responsive web design course, and I started making a list of beginner-friendly projects I'd like to build. I did some research on some of the more prominent coding languages to learn, and I worked them into my code-learning plan.

Tomorrow, I'm going to continue working through the RWD course, and maybe watch a Youtube video on Python for beginners. There's so many free resources on Youtube, I feel like I can learn anything my heart desires.

Key takeaways from today:

It's okay to fall behind. With how busy and draining life can get, it's okay if you're not constantly on top of things. It's more common than you think.

Don't force yourself to continue, if you don't feel like it. Genuinely, just take a break. Otherwise, you'll stop enjoying what you're doing.

With that, I shall leave you guys to it! Hope you've had a lovely day today!

(I could not help but use this gif!)

[digitaldiariescs]

Day 1: Pushing through the RWD course and trying to maintain consistency

The hardest thing has been consistency. As usual. Now I know that taking too big of a break while coding is a bad idea, since you forget what you learned, but sometimes, I just don't have the energy for coding after a long day. And unfortunately, today was that day.

Life has been incredibly stressful, and even though I've made coding a priority, some days, I'm too anxious to function. But, I'm proud of myself today. Today, I spent some time pushing through the 'Responsive Web Design' course by freeCodeCamp, and I downloaded and set up VSCode on my computer.

I think I'm ready to start working on personal projects, and build stuff on my own. I'm getting the hang of things, and I know how to do basic things on HTML and CSS, but I still need instructions. I need to practice on my own to learn how to actually apply my knowledge, without needing instructions.

Anyways, looking forward to working through my course again tomorrow!

[digitaldiariescs]

Announcement: New Plans and the Beginning of a Journey

Hi everyone!

It feels weird writing on this blog again, because the last time I was here, I'm pretty sure I was studying for some sort of exam. The plan for this blog, initially, was to keep a record of my journey as I study through my exam, and keep myself accountable. And clearly, none of that happened.

I remember making multiple drafts of posts over the span of a week, and I realised, it was pretty much the same thing everyday. I had no new comments, and I just didn't have much to say about my journey. It felt...pointless? Why would I keep a blog when I can just cross things off my to-do list to keep myself accountable?

Anyways, things have changed since then. Changed a lot. And I have changed a lot. I'm doing quite a few things at the moment, but I really want to make technological literacy a priority. I've recently taken up a freecodecamp course on responsive web design, and I've been watching too many videos on cybersecurity/coding/programming.

As was the case years ago, I'm struggling with consistency again. Instead of working on my courses, or practicing, I've been sucked into watching random cooking videos and playing Genshin Impact (I know I have issues, leave me alone). Therefore, I thought of giving this blog a chance again. Let's see how far it takes me this time!

The goal is to post frequent updates on my progress, things I've learned, coding discoveries, things I found interesting, etc. so that I can keep learning, and look back on everything I've learned. I'm probably (most definitely) not going to post daily because I have way too many things going on, and I'm not going to make this blog a chore. It's for fun, and I'll have fun with it! But if you see me post multiple times a day, I'm obsessing over what I'm learning.

Anyways, with that being said, I'm going to start setting things up for blogging again, and go through my course to make some progress! See ya'll soon!