Growth has Pains

Lemayian JN
Jul 21, 2017 · 3 min read

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ― Anaïs Nin

It’s the last day of the Andela SLC week, I’ve been working in and out of the fundamentals of software development. So far, I’ve known the cost of quality software but I’ve been unable to pay its full price. All the way from designing user interface, implementing core functionality, continuous integration to deploying an application to heroku just in five days.

The going has not been easy, but it has been worthwhile. It’s been a whole week, yet it just felt like two days. Time has been so scarce, it’s been literally flying. Personally, I’ve liked the learning model used in the SLC. The fact that it has been remote giving me a chance to know how to work with people who are so far away from me. It’s from this SLC experience that I’ve come to discover that software development is that kind of job you can do at the beach, with sand between your toes.

Also, the curriculum, the idea of building a useful product when learning something new is very awesome and motivating. This kind of learning has helped me know exactly what I need to be a world class developer, to write software that is tested and approved. Then there is the course itself, equally challenging for both the beginner and the experts. I mean, I’ve never imagined storing data without a database but it’s been proven possible (it’s non-persistent). I feel challenged to understand more about data structures and where to use them. Honestly, the course has humbled me.

Model of growth: adapted from CatholicEdu

I really appreciate the amount of support I’ve had from my code buddies in the Heptads, our little group of seven nerds 😂. The moral support, reviewing each other’s code on github, the jokes we cracked in our gitter inboxes and even just being there to prove that I was not in this alone was motivating me to keep on moving even when I felt like it’s getting impossible.

This far, I’ve come to the realization that what I have accomplished in a whole four days could just be well done in a day and a half and give more space for more improvements. Well, don’t blame me: I was just so dumb, I must admit. 😂 But I now know how to go about creating a flask application, what is remaining is refining my skills. I think I’ll try re-doing this bucketlist application, right from designing and uml diagrams construction to creating user sessions as my weekend project. Compared to last week at a time like this, I now see things very differently.

“The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.” — Lao Tzu

It’s been really challenging, saying it’s been painful is valid… But, in life I’ve learned that pain is inevitable: You either feel the pain of discipline, or get to experience the pain of regret. I choose discipline! TIA!