The One Gatekeeper of Coding (And Why That’s You)
Hello! Welcome to my very first Medium article!
If you’re reading this, it either means you want to learn or are learning how to code (great!), or you’ve seen posts on my LinkedIn and Instagram promoting this article (also great!).
Gatekeepers — and where to find them
So, gatekeeping. When someone is a gatekeeper, it means that they are controlling, and usually limiting, general access to something. When you try to, say, walk into a room but I tell you to leave and never return, it means that I’m the gatekeeper of that room, preventing you from setting foot in it.
A room is something physical though. What about coding?
Well, coding can have its gatekeepers too. More often than not, you’d think that they would be those self-proclaimed experts trying to reduce the competition by discouraging newcomers from joining the coding community. Frankly, I’ve seen and met those people (usually on Stack Overflow¹ but shhh that’s a topic for another time). Even so, I believe that the most gatekeeper-y gatekeeper of all gatekeepers is…
You are your own gatekeeper
“Why?” I hear you ask.
The sky isn’t the limit, the limit is yourself.
I used to put this original quote on my Instagram bio in 1 BC (Before Coding²). No, I’m not psychic; I didn’t foresee writing this article 3 years ago. Instead, I rediscovered the truth in it recently, motivating me to write this article in order to convince you to believe in it too!
Start. Now.
So many people hold themselves back because they are afraid to try; afraid to fail; afraid to be laughed at, mocked, ridiculed.
They are afraid to start.
The coding gatekeeper attitude
I see countless comments on YouTube by people both young and old asking whether they should learn how to code, and if so, how they should do it. That word, should, is plagued with the desire to play it safe. Those people need reassurance. They need a predetermined path to follow. They will wait until everything is foolproof.
What they don’t realise is that the very nature of what they seek to learn, coding, is the opposite of foolproof³.
The coding pro attitude
Coding is filled with errors — bugs, we call them. Coding is a science, but it is also an art: there isn’t only one ultimate solution to a problem.
So, wouldn’t it make sense to approach learning how to code in a similar manner?
Instead of waiting until you are absolutely confident of absolute success, start now and build your confidence along the way!
Instead of asking for course recommendations for months on end, go to any platform of your choice (I used Codecademy when I was first starting out) and take a course!
Instead of feeling that you’re not good enough to learn because you think you lack the prerequisite knowledge, pick up a book anyway and start learning!
Instead of getting stuck in tutorial purgatory making template projects yet not absorbing any knowledge, build something of your own and learn from your own mistakes (this is my personal recommendation, because making mistakes yourself will leave a bigger impact on you than just merely being spoon-fed by the instructor)!
The sky isn’t the limit, the limit is yourself.
You are the only person who can push yourself to be the best that you can be. Of course, with good comes bad; you are also the only person who can truly limit your potential and discourage yourself from pursuing your goals (including learning how to code)!
Yes, it will take time. Yes, it isn’t the easiest thing on Earth. Yes, you will fail again and again and again.
But that’s the beauty of learning.
Coding is messy and challenging, but that’s precisely why it’s so rewarding and fulfilling.
Destroying the gatekeeper
You may feel differently, and that’s okay! After all, this article is just one gal’s opinion!
Having said that, what I want you to take away from this article is the courage to not just dip your toes in the water, but to dive into the ocean of knowledge. In the end, you have only one person to thank…
And you are no longer the gatekeeper.
You are the key.
Thanks for reading! If you have a different opinion, do let me and other readers know by commenting below! Once again, thank you and happy learning!
[1]: I’m being a little bit mean. Stack Overflow is a great platform and has helped me immensely ever since I started coding. I’m just saying that there are some people who use Stack Overflow to prey on new coders who ask questions, discouraging them from further pursuing coding.
[2]: By the way, the base year is 2018, which was when I wrote my first line of code (on October 2018, to be exact).
[3]: At least not at the first try.
