A, B, C’s…

Wilson Klodt Wong
Jul 30, 2017 · 3 min read

When starting something new, it can be a very scary experience. It’s stepping out of your comfort zone and into the unknown abyss. People do it for different reasons and every reason is valid. I’m doing it right now.

I’m here to talk about the “A,B,C’s” of doing so.. a list of things to do when starting out.. the basics.. This will be a reminder of what to do, what I’ve missed and my journey into this new adventure.

As with all memorable journeys, the fun part isn’t the final destination but how you get there. There might be some missed turns, some side trips, endless singing of your favorite tunes, traffic jams.. etc. there will be ups and downs. Don’t sweat the small stuff.. (and remember.. everything is small stuff!)

It can be quite confusing where exactly to start so the internet comes in handy.. a great blog I found is the “8 Skills You Need if You Want to Learn to Code”. It covers everything from having patience and the ability to break down problems to honing in your soft skills, having thick skin and most important, being able to switch off.. (no seriously.. step away from the screen!)


Another great and new thing for me are podcasts and guess what.. there are a ton out there.. so where do we go from here? Ayo Isaiah has written a blog article, a good resource for junior programmers. Not only does he cover a wide range of topics from the newbie to specific programming languages, but it also lets you know the duration.. hour long episodes in case you’re crushing it at the gym on the elliptical, stuck on public transit, or just have 15 minutes on a coffee break and want to hear something new. Ayo also goes into detail about how to access the podcasts using apps available on multiple devices. Scroll thru the comments for more suggestions.


The final item to chat about on my first blog are cats.. specifically herding cats! They are cute, fluffy, unpredictable and sooner or later.. drive you nuts; leaving you frustrated and angry! This is also true in coding..

Bart Jacobs has written a great blog titled “Seven Tips for the Healthy Programmer” These are tips that have nothing to do with how healthy your code looks but how to maintain your OWN health!.. No one wants to be an angry coder!

Bart talks about things we often forget about or put aside like exercise, sleep and gives us advice on things like posture and caffeine. Really important things to consider and implement when you want a long and healthy life of coding. An interesting thing he brings up is being able to disconnect.. it seems to be a reoccurring theme..

I hope this blog post helps other newbies on this journey to set good life habits outside the screens of our computers in order to maintain a meaningful and long life of coding.

Remember the A, B, C’s to become Amazing Beginner Coders!

Thanks to giphy.com for the fun images!

Wilson Klodt Wong

Written by

Student studying Front End Web Development at HackerYou

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