Month Two as an 8th Light Apprentice
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It’s the end of month two as an apprentice at 8th Light. Over the past few weeks, I have:
- Created a to do list web app, using Ruby and Sinatra
- Created a Tic Tac Toe game with Siobhan, using JavaScript
The importance of being honest with myself
In my previous blog post, I expressed that I felt uncomfortable being outside of my comfort zone. This month, my aim was to accept the feeling and keep pushing.
Working with Sinatra for the first time and being introduced to Rack::Test was a challenge. However, nothing good comes from staying in the safe, warm, comfort zone. I had to remind myself of why I’m at 8th Light… I want to learn and pushing myself is the only way to do this.
By being honest and accepting the gaps in my knowledge made it easier for me to ask for help from my mentors. It also quietened the niggling voice of imposter syndrome. As a result, I celebrated every triumph and saw the trials as learning opportunities.
I was able to finish all of the core goals, and some of the stretch goals set by my mentors for the to do list app.
Tic Tac Toe and JavaScript
The next task was to create a Tic Tac Toe game that could be played in the browser. A task I’m sure all of the apprentices were dreading. It would be our first challenge in JavaScript and first time using Jest to test.
With the help of our mentors, Justyna and Dan, Siobhan and I started to break the game down into parts to explore:
Although there are differences in syntax and certain methods in comparison to Ruby, it was quite straightforward to get to grips with aspects of JavaScript needed for this project.
What I found really challenging was mapping out the logic of what we wanted each part (or class) to do, and how they would fit together overall. However, we didn’t stay stuck for long. Being able to ask our mentors for hints, feedback or to pair helped immensely.
What have I learned this month:
- Having a supportive network (mentors, apprentices, crafters) is key to progression
- Being honest with myself and the gaps in my knowledge is important in order to seek the help needed to move forward
- Test driven development with Sinatra and JavaScript
- HTTP verbs and query parameters in Sinatra
- Dependency injection
- Taking regular breaks helps me to figure out a problem
What I want to focus on next month:
- Creating a weather manager using JavaScript
- Continue pushing myself outside of my comfort zone
- Taking advantage of the opportunity to pair with mentors, crafters and other apprentices
