Read Time: 2.5 minutes

You know the common advice:

"Just keep coding and you will get better"

"Your first 100 programs will suck"

"Focus on taking the next step"

The posts you read a thousand times online.

Everybody is saying the same thing.

The truth is:

Those posts get attention

I've posted them before myself.

And part of me feels like I'm contributing to a problem.

I know what posts are nice to read for new programmers.

Because I was a new programmer before.

Those posts feel like a warm hug to anybody on a lonely path.

Like somebody gets their pain.

But I don't believe in them 100%.

Because it isn't what worked for me.

I know it might help somebody get through their day.

When you're learning something hard it is easy to beat yourself up.

To feel like there's something wrong with you.

"Am I too late to start?"

"Is this even my true passion?"

"Am I wasting time in my precious life?"

Questions I ask myself often.

The Truth

When I started coding I didn't read motivational posts.

I didn't look up to any programmers.

I had a group of people.

Real. Living. Breathing people.

For two years I woke up, put on a uniform, got on a cold bus at 6:30 am, and went to a classroom full of people excited to do the same thing as me:

Learn to code.

We challenged each other.

Competed with each other.

Showed off and asked questions.

Looking back it's obvious that I didn't fall in love with programming.

It was the people around me.

It was that classroom.

The feelings had nothing to do with the code.

It had to do with the people.

The shared mission.

The energy.

I still like programming today.

It's one of my favorite things I do.

But I would be lying to pretend that I fell in love the second I saw an if statement.

I don't believe love at first sight exists.

It's about love at the first feeling.

Maybe you're more romantic than I am, but that's what I believe.

The feelings you have early on in a relationship with anything — not just people — define how you feel about it.

I acknowledge that I got lucky finding that classroom.

I found my group early.

but it worked.

Here is my real advice to anybody learning code.

(or learning anything hard in general)

Don't underestimate the power of people.

Everybody online will tell you they did it alone.

Only them. All willpower. Nothing else.

They are full of shit.

People are the reason we do anything in life.

That lonely pain isn't a problem — It's a signal.

Don't fall victim to thinking the problem is your willpower.

The problem is your environment.

And that is easier to change.

- Go to a conference

- Find a group of friends

- Join a Facebook group

- Pay to join a local school

- Recruit a group for Discord

Do whatever you can to find the environment.

Do whatever you can to make the experience about people.

With good friends.

With positive energy.

It's easy to fall in love.

If you're struggling to find passion:

Think of the last time you fell in love with something — Why?

____________________________________

Thank you for reading my sappy newsletter.

This one was important to me.

I appreciate all of you who took the time to read.

As always:

Reply to this newsletter or shoot me an email at swdlodonnell@gmail.com

I will respond.

Until next week.

Stay safe out there 👋