JavaScript is Not As Horrible As I Thought
21 Jan 2020
Over My Head?
I know very little about computer science. My first day of ICS 314, my nerves were through the roof. I had been told the class was hard, although not why, and that many people had to retake it. As a shaky programmer at best, barely adequate in Java only, I felt overwhelmed looking at the lines of code in an unfamiliar language. My fears were quickly banished, however, by a dawning realization that, hey, JavaScript isn’t so bad! Perhaps the comfort I have rapidly achieved with this language is due to my previous experience with Java – although the languages, of course, are different, they do share some fundamentals of coding that I had already been introduced to, like defining variables and creating functions. After making it through the first week and several FreeCodeCamp JavaScript lessons, I had regained my confidence that not only would I pass ICS 314, but I would also excel in it.
I’ve Got This (Probably)
I knew that I was going to have to really buckle down if I wanted to make my desired grade. Although I liked what I saw of JavaScript, I had no doubt that the complexity of code would pick up fast and leave me scratching my head over the concepts they entailed. I had to create a plan to stay ahead of the curve. Luckily, Philip Johnson, the professor of my ICS 314 course, seemed to have done much of the planning for me. He introduced me to a concept called “Athletic Software Engineering,” an approach that he describes as “a high intensity, time-constrained, and often stress-inducing approach to acquiring competency with software engineering skills.” I will admit, first reading that rekindled my nerves big time, as no one would ever describe as someone who is quick on their feet. They would likely describe me instead in a completely opposite fashion more along the lines of a person who loses their brain cells in a directly positive relationship to the amount of time remaining on a countdown. But I knew it would be good for my development as a human being and a one-day software engineer, so I did not give into my first instinct to drop the class.
A Stressful Success
Something else I was introduced to by my new computer science professor was something called a WOD. This turned out to stand for “workout of the day,” and it was something out of my worst nightmares. A timed, 100-or-0-points coding assignment in a new programming language. The day of our first WOD, I came to class with dark bags under my eyes from having been up all night fretting about the horrible possibilities. Would I survive the hour? Well, obviously I am here writing this, so I made it. I would dare say I even learned something – that I am capable of much more than I thought. I successfully completed the WOD and have further bolstered my burgeoning confidence in myself as a programmer. Although that noun still feels strange when I apply it to myself, I know that by the end of this course and many, many more WODs, I will indeed be a confident, competent JavaScript programmer.