The Highs are High: Project 2

The lows are lows, but the highs are really high!

The nerves for project 2 considerably diminished in comparison to Module 1’s final project. In Module 1, we had two practice projects and a final one that would determine (along with the final exam) if we would pass on to Module 2 or not. For the first practice project my hands would shake and my heart rate stayed high as I experienced anxiety every time I had to click refresh or run tests to make sure my code was working. I feared getting an error, because I feared I would never find the solution, would fall behind, and realize I had not learned a thing.
In Module 1 we had two practice projects before the final. This means we had two opportunities to ensure we understood everything. In the first round I was able to calculate exactly how much I really did not understand. I made note of the errors, and asked for help when I needed it. By the time the final project came around I was still anxious, but felt more prepared to take on the project.

For project 2 in Module 2, we were paired up and each partner was in charge of building a micro-service from back-end to front-end. The micro-services, a Sales API and a Services API would be pulling data from the inventory to manage and keep track of sales and services. In similar fashion to Module 1, in this module we had a practice project before the final project. In similar fashion to Module 1, I felt like I had absolutely no idea where to begin or how to even get through the practice project. After 4 weeks of learning an astonishing amount of information, it all felt like a blur, and I realized maybe I did not know what I thought I knew.

I took the time during the practice project to come to a better understanding of the code I had been writing, asking questions and asking for help (as a last resort, because I’m proud). By the time the final project came around I felt better prepared. I was able to build models, get my poller to work, and successfully build the Sales API. I moved on to the front-end in which I had to use React to implement several forms and list views. I came across errors, of course, some of which I happily solved after minutes of working, and others which I was only able to solve once I asked for help. The most challenging and rewarding features I worked on where the “Salesperson history”, and the “Record A New Sale” form. These two features simultaneously tested my understanding of React, and Javascript.

The salesperson feature that I stared at in awe.

While working on this project, I realized I had fallen into a cycle. The errors I solved within minutes fed my confidence. However, when it would take me longer (much longer) to find an error I quickly began to doubt my abilities. After going through every thing I knew that could possibly be wrong, I dove into waves of self-doubt— “was I thinking about this the wrong way? Was the confidence I felt actually completely unfounded? Most of the time the answer to those questions were “no”, but I would only realize that upon asking for help (which I learned I should do more often and more quickly) and I would get the reassurance that I was on the right track. I would feel confident after that, and then it would start all over again. At the beginning of this module, I asked one of the instructors to share a piece of advice for succeeding. His advice was “detach your emotions from your code”. He elaborated and reminded us that our code failing was not an actual reflection of us and should not dictate how we feel. I struggle with this and have not found the way to achieve it yet, but remind myself often about it. Maybe in Module 3?

It’s hard to detach my emotions from it. The “Salesperson History” page is an example of this. I began coding this feature, basing it off my understanding of fetch, and useState. I had a dropdown that fetched the salespeople data, and now I needed to connect it to a table that would filter out sales based on the salesperson selected from the dropdown. When it came down to testing it, it would not work. After struggling to understand where I had gone wrong, I asked for help only to find out I had left out just one tiny element. My understanding had been correct!! It’s a bittersweet feeling. I was proud to have been able to understand this part, but frustrated that I had spent so long trying to find a missing pair of brackets. Overflowed with joy, I took a step back and clicked on the dropdown over and over, amazed at the fact that I had made this happen. At the end of the project I had a functioning site, it needed styling, but it worked! Sometimes I wonder if I enjoy doing this and while I really question the desire to do this when I’m struggling, the joy and satisfaction at seeing the fruition of my work erases the pain. The lows are lows, but the highs are really high!