Which Way is Which?

Hello, fellow humans! This week’s dilemma is a phenomenon that is not unique to people learning to program, but it is very pronounced: Choice Overload.
The theory of Choice Overload is that the more choices presented to a person, the more likely that person is to make a poor choice, or no choice, leading to another familiar phenomenon, Analysis Paralysis. Some studies challenge the theory, but as someone who has the benefit of ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE THROUGH PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, I believe it exists. It’s apparent when you go to any social website with a “Learn to Program” subtopic. Conversation after conversation after conversation through the history that reads, “What is the best language to learn?”, along with the inevitable reply, “Don’t learn a language, learn to code.”
There are so many programming languages. I can see both sides of this timeless conflict. The beginner has no idea where, how, or what to even start. The beginner is nervous that learning the wrong language can result in time wasted/no employment prospects. The beginner desperately needs a professional to show the way to proficiency. The professional is too busy with work/side projects/family/friends/not sleeping that the most concise answer that == TRUE is “Learn how to think like a programmer, the language is unimportant. A true programmer has language-agnostic skills.” That response then gets refactored into the much more abridged answer given. While this is true, and ultimately accurate, it is ultimately unhelpful.
In my own case, I struggled with which language to learn. I ultimately landed on JavaScript, because it was the most accessible in terms of free/cheap resources to learn it. Now I’m at another crossroads, another decision to make, another chance to stall my learning progress. I have a decent understanding of HTML, CSS, JS. However, I’m bored with tutorials holding my hand, showing me the answer to the problems I’m facing. I have a three-point decision to make right now: power through and continue reinforcing what I have learned; build something with what I have learned; learn a front end framework and build something with that.
What do you think I should do? Tell me in the comments!
Next week I’ll follow up with what I did and why I did it. See you then!
