26 days at We Think Code_
So I made it to and through We Think Code(WTC_) selection boot-camp, little did I know, that it wasn’t all about C programming language and two days of Unix, it is all that and all the other little million thingies…
while(InBootcamp) {
eat();
code();
sleep();
maybeCodeSomeMore();
}
A month of grinding, 26 days of being pushed to your limits, four weeks in front of a Mac, figuring out what to do on a daily basis, every single day. No teachers, absolutely no one pushing anyone to submit their work, exams at the end of each week, and group projects on weekends. And to wrap it all up, a braai at the end of each boot-camp, or ice cream, well in my case it was ice cream.
Bootcamp is a sink or swim kind of experience, honestly exhausting, but genuinely fun! The concept of self-motivating, yes, I would say one cannot get through the boot-camp without self-motivation, because almost on a daily basis, it goes South.
One just begins, opens that coding editor(vim, emacs, vscode) and starts typing. Not knowing how to use the terminal, how to change file permissions, how to move and rename files without a mouse, how to use remote repositories, in fact not even knowing how to write code. That is actually normal. For some, you have no idea what I just said, but that is where most people, I included started my boot-camp at We Think Code_. Ok, let's start, touch that filename on terminal, type in that that “Hello World”, and don't forget to include the libraries.
It is using the search engine morally and optimally right, yes I said right. It is realizing on the 7th day that there might be solutions to every problem somewhere on the internet but deciding to learn the concepts rather, so one types in those lines on the editor.
It is acknowledging and admitting that one doesn’t know, and could use some help, well a lot of times! And learning that not knowing at first is ok. Surviving the boot-camp is a lot of asking strangers questions that seem stupid, but seriously, the person next to you has probably asked them. Sometimes it is knowing what the question wants at first, but eventually realizing you have no idea what you are doing an hour later, but despite that, continue to have the will to move forward.
Not knowing and acknowledging the struggle, however, opens a lot of boot-campers eyes, helps a lot of people discover the potential of their learning capabilities.
It comes with failing a lot but most importantly picking oneself up after that failure. Failing daily exercises but moving on to the next day, being so tired but still pushing hard to hand it that weekend assignment. Honestly, one solution works and then the next one and then the next. And if one solves enough exercises, just maybe if one doesn’t give up, one gets a green mark.
It is waking up the next day regardless of yesterday’s errors and failures and wanting to improve. We had a joke on our boot-camp, “zero is our daily bread”, but we also worked hard to prove that line wrong.
Bootcamps is how well we mix when put together, respecting each other’s differences because dreams brought us together.
It’s listening to success stories, of previous We Think Coders_, they are pretty inspiring. Attending small group meetings and realizing that alone a person can go fast but it's only when we lean in where we will go far.
Boot-camp is managing self disappointments and unfulfilled intentions.
Boot-camp comes down to time management. From daily exercises, defenses, marking points, group projects, getting to know people, community services, eating and sleeping, one has to always find the balance I would advise, one has to find their pace and mute their volume during an exam session.
It is hard work that pays, fortunately, and team spirit that builds. But it does not always result in being accepted, what it does, however, helps young believers find out if they are born to code or not. Either way, a person learns how to learn from the boot camp, a lesson worthwhile!
I have just done my last We Think Code_ boot-camp, Piscine Swift IOS, and when I look back, I realize it all started with the 26 days at We Think Code_, the grit I had when it went south, just 18 months back. The whole experience and my time at We Think Code has opened my eyes so much to learning, and maybe to more than just learning.
