Coding with Codeine

Jade Seravla
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

I’ve wanted to write a little story right when I began my journey in the Precourse at Makers months ago…. a time where Ctrl-Alt-Delete was my best friend and where every issue I had with my computer was solved by turning it on and off.

As the weeks went by I started having a lot of issues with the achilles tendonitis that I had on both my ankles before the course, even though I was spending a large amount of time sitting and coding and not running. I’m a nervous person as it is, and I found myself getting anxious not only because I had imposter syndrome and often felt like everyone else was on this metaphorical train and I was trying to run after them, but also because I couldn’t physically run anymore, and didn’t know when I would ever be able to.

The weekend after graduation was one filled with a mix of emotions. I was so happy I had made it through the course but ended up in A&E the next day because I had got up from my bed and just collapsed on the floor with excruciating pain unable to walk. Apart from the pain, the doctors couldn’t detect any deterioration, but I was really worried this would affect my ability to focus on job applications and interviews.

Codeine was the answer to that and helped me dedicate all my efforts into job hunting and distract me from all the negative stuff with my ankles. In hindsight, I wish I could have told myself not to worry more…I had an amazing experience at Makers and it was one of the best things I ever did, but I went through the course always worrying about my coding abilities and not having much confidence in myself. If there’s one little piece of advice I could give my less-omniscient self (4 months ago ha!), it would be to stop worrying and enjoy every minute of this cool and life changing experience, because you only do it once (unless you have another 8k floating about! )

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