Week 4 – Day 1 (Monday)

It’s the start of a new week! Actually, today’s Tuesday…I forgot to update last night 😐

However! After this past weekend, I feel energized, revitalized, and ready to go! We moved on to mySQL yesterday which is how we are going to be doing databases. I downloaded mySQL Workbench which is a GUI to help visualize how to structure your database. I like it because it’s got a visual aspect that’s a little different than coding. Here’s a picture of what a simple database can look like:

This is pretty HUGE because now we have all of the parts to make a working website! We’ve learned the front-end/ client side with HTML, CSS, and Javascript. We’ve touched on Python and used it as a server-side language to set up our routes and run our web pages. Now we have the database that can store loads of info such as log-in or registration credentials, orders and shipments, user accounts. Pretty much anything that is data we can store and access later. Like I said, huge.

That pretty much sums up yesterday. There weren’t a bunch of assignments. Most of it was just readings and exercises to understand SQL. I finished up the lesson around 2pm and spent the remainder of my time finishing up two previous assignments from Flask.

Sidenote: Post class today having a much needed Bros night! Really looking forward to that!

Week One is Finished!

Officially finished up week one of the bootcamp yesterday. It’s crazy to think how far we all have come since the first day. Just a few weeks ago, I never thought that I would be able to recreate the design and layout of a real professional website. Now here I am being tested on that skill with only 5 hours to complete the exam!

The saying is true, “Practice makes permanent” and I had a BUNCH of opportunities to practice this week. Side note: another great saying I found this weekend, “The way you do anything is the way you do everything.” I think that saying is so powerful. I really am trying my best to be as dedicated and committed to coding as I am with music and teaching. I feel like if I can at least match that intensity while learning and coding, I’ll MAYBE be okay.

I arrived at the Dojo early Friday morning. I wanted to finish up a previous CSS assignment from Thursday. I remember working on it for hours and feeling lost, frustrated, and depleted. Anytime I would change one property, it would warp my entire CSS layout. Thursday was not a good day. Friday morning, HOWEVER, was much better.

I felt relaxed and more clear minded after a night off from coding. It was wonderful. Sometimes it really does help to step away from a problem for a little bit especially if you are stuck. Friday morning, I was breezing through all of the parts I struggled with on Thursday. I didn’t suddenly become a better coder overnight. I was just working with greater focus and with a clearer mind. That was a very important lesson for me.

Anyway, I took the HTML/CSS Belt Exam on Friday. I started just a little after 9 a.m. I feel as if I did well. It took me about 2.5 hours to complete and I spent about half an hour just going over details and making sure the upload worked. Speaking of upload, some of my cohort members learned an important lesson about frequent saves and uploads that morning…That’s all I’ll say about that.

After the exam, I took a longer lunch to decompress and then immediately began working on the next section which is JavaScript. I feel like this new section is going to be harder than HTML and CSS but I’m going to prepare as best I can. Trying my best to be prepared and stay ahead of the curriculum.

I am hoping to finish the JavaScript Module this weekend and be ready to discuss DOM manipulation on Monday!

P.S. SUPER excited about sushi tonight for my girlfriend’s birthday! 🙂