To Code or Not to Code

By Jenise Jackson
Blog Content Contributor

Have you ever found yourself thinking about what it took to build the websites you visit on a regular basis? How about those apps that help you make it throughout the day? Maybe my love for technology drove my interest in learning how they come to be. So once I started college and realized I wanted to have a future with communications and digital media, I decided I would take the dive into learning how to code. Little did I know that at first, dive would lead me to drown.

Think of me as Superman (or Superwoman) and coding as my kryptonite. At this time in my life, coding is my biggest weakness. I am truly surprised I haven’t pulled out all my hair trying to make a decent HTML and CSS website. I can truly say I didn’t know patience until I spent nearly four hours trying to find one error that was ruining a whole coding project. I feel like coding sets its victims up for failure because it seems like no matter how good you are, you will run into problems with each project. Basically if you didn’t start off crazy before learning to code, it might just turn you insane by the time it is done with you.

The thing is, I don’t completely hate coding. But in fact, I have never met anyone who admittedly loves coding, either. They just do it because it is fulfilling and rewarding. It’s like once I get past all the errors and convince myself that I am satisfied with the project, I feel like a little genius programmer. Although the HTML websites don’t always look amazing at first, the fact that I put it together with little to no help (well, except for W3Schools) is worthy of a glass of wine to help calm my nerves. Knowing that I at least understand how to code gives me enough bragging rights in my opinion. Another thing that keeps me pushing along with the coding learning process is the fact that there are a lot of jobs now that are eager to hire those who have programming skills. I graduate in a year and if a decent paying job wants to hire me because I can speak the HTML and CSS language, I’ll take it and run.

If you are looking to learn how to code, I definitely do not want to stray you away from doing so. Like I said, it comes with benefits and you will be able to proudly admit that you are kind of a tech nerd. Who knows? You could be the creator of the next big thing just because you voluntarily decide to stress yourself out with whatever coding chooses to throw at you.

Featured image by Jenise Jackson.