My Most Recent Challenging Learning Experience

Have you ever faced a challenging situation? I have and I can wager you most likely have too. In life, we often face difficult situations and the mindset with which we view these challenging situations can way us down and mar our chances of overcoming them.
I recently applied for a spot among arguably Africa’s most elite software development firm, Andela, and I was offered a shot at moving from an amateur to a world class software developer. I was ecstatic at the prospects of going pro. I had scaled through the various stages of the intensely rigorous recruitment process and made it to the final stage, a two-week bootcamp at the Andela Epic Towers somewhere around Lagos. I was quite pleased to have been selected from a pool of thousands of applicants and was fascinated by the number of incredibly smart and talented people who were also vying for the same limited position as myself.
We were required to build a world class full-stack web app using JavaScript and Postgresql for data persistence. Working with Postgresql database was quite challenging for me because I had only previously worked with non-relational databases of which Postgresql is not. I welcomed this challenge with open arms and leveraged all the resources at my disposal to help surmount the challenge. It was a really exciting encounter. Although I was unable to complete the project within the stipulated time, I succeeded in adding another skill to my rapidly growing collection of technical and soft -skills. I learnt how to design, structure, and query relational databases and also how to keep a right frame of mind in the face of challenging and difficult situations.
Every challenge is a potential opportunity to learn and to grow, the way you choose to view it can make all the difference between success and failure.
