Before actually choosing the major I wanted to declare I tried 2 different majors. After volunteering for the different jobs and taking a couple classes within the majors, I decided that it was not for me. One night I decided that I was going to major in Computer Science and not look back. The first couple Computer Science classes I took were very easy for me to understand. Then, the pandemic hit. Having to switch to online in the middle of learning Javascript eventually made it a hard language for me to grasp. I started to fall behind in learning the new techniques which discouraged me from continuing on in my degree pathway. However, I did not want to give up and change my major again. I then started to code in other languages which were easier for me. It got me thinking I would never have to code in JavaScript again. Boy was I wrong, I met my enemy once again in ICS 314.
During our very first class our professor was going over what we will be doing over the course of the semester. I remember him saying we will be using Javascript and my heart sank. I was not confident in my Javascript abilities and I felt people would look down on me because of that. However, I quickly learned that our professor wanted to set us up for success within his class. So, we were going back to the basics and doing a refresher course using the FreeCodeCamp assignment. The FreeCodeCamp assignment truly helped me with learning the fundamentals and allowed me to get comfortable with them rather than jumping straight into coding. I have always been able to learn better with repetition and this assignment allowed me to do that. For a lot of classes we are given big assignments that take days to complete. I find that it is very difficult for me to learn that way because I feel overwhelmed to the point I do not want to do the assignment and push it aside till the very last minute. However, the FreeCodeCamp assignment not only gives me the repetition I need to learn better, but I am able build upon my understanding to hopefully be able to put it all together in one big assignment. Learning it a second time around was not as bad as I remember it being. Looking back I feel that because I was taught JavaScript before taking this class it allowed me to understand the concepts a lot easier the second time around.
Has it ever happened where you are stuck on one problem on a test and a couple minutes before time runs out you figure out the answer so you are trying to quickly write your answers down. You hands start to tense up and you feel yourself writing slower and slower. Well, that always happens to me, I always freak out when it comes to taking tests. Now, let me formally introduce to you our weekly workout of the day (WODs). Every Thursday we have a WOD. Each WOD will be different because it is reflecting what we learned that week. We are given steps we will need to follow in order to successfully complete the WOD, but the catch is you only have a certain amount of time to do them. After going through the first WOD it helped me to realize that it is not that bad, if I just put the effort in to study every day I will be fine. The repetition of everything truly helps me to become more comfortable with Javascript. We are given all of the resources we need to succeed in this class, I just have to make it a point to do my share of the work and study.