Digital Solutions, Year 10
Early 2024
2024 was the first year I typed out <h1>Hello World!</h1>. As part of my Digital Solutions class, we learnt HTML and CSS in Unit 1. Everybody starts from the very basics, and by that I mean Googling "how to center a div". Fun times.
Our first assignment was to build a website for a toy shop. My teacher thought I did pretty well (I don't remember the exact mark, but I was top of the class). Clearly he didn't get to witness the seismic shifts of random elements when the window was resized. Back then I must've thought that responsive design was a myth.
Unit 2. Backend development with PHP and MYSQL. We added a database and made a CRUD app. Again, I did pretty well, even with the world's worst SQL/PHP authentication system known to mankind. However, messing around with websites sparked an interest in me. I don't why I decided to keep learning, considering that our websites were straight shit. But I glad I made it through.
The Journey Begins
Mid 2024
During Unit 2, we had a substitute teacher. We complained about PHP (for no valid reason) and he suggested flask for building web applications. So I went home and looked at some tutorials. My conclusion? Flask wasn't any better. I just ended up building projects using JavaScript. In a series of 30 JavaScript Projects, I built a weather app, timer, password generator, landing page, loading indicator, QR code generator, custom toasts, and some more random things. When I felt confident, I moved onto React.
React felt like a whole new world. The learning curve was tough, and I had to go through multiple "MASTER REACT IN __ HOURS" tutorials before I started building bigger projects. I built projects one after another, slowly progressing into more advanced concepts and techniques. Then in late October, I picked up three things that changed the game. TypeScript, TailwindCSS, and Next.js. Then I continued to grind. After countless hours of practice and building random projects, I naturally got better and faster. Error after error, I ended up being able to instantly fix them from memory. I was slowly becoming a front-end developer.
Closing Notes
Late 2024
As I became familiar with my tech stack, I began trying out new tools. That's when I discovered ShadCN, designed on Figma, started using GitHub, and deployed my applications on Vercel. 2024 was a thrilling year full of experiences, setbacks, and most importantly, the start of a very exiting journey. So, what's up next? In 2025, I plan to learn backend development and become a full-stack developer.
Thanks for reading!
Ryan, 2024.