Learning how to code

It’s been so long since my last post and that is because as I mentioned a few posts back, I’m getting into coding. I didn’t expect to be having this much fun with it. That, along with learning French and finally getting a job, is the main reason I’ve been unable to get to writing a post.

So why am I learning to code again? Right now, I’m learning HTML, moving onto CSS now, and after that, JavaScript, so I can code my own websites. I’m also interested in possibly making apps in the future. This website you’re on right now is made from a WordPress theme, since I knew nothing about those languages when I was making it, so I was very avoidant of solutions to do with coding. I’m still at level 0 pretty much, but if I continue learning then I might even be able to improve this site in the future. 😀

Interestingly, what’s helped me the most with learning code is learning languages, or more so knowing how to learn. Common advice I saw when I first started researching how to code was “learn how to learn.” It’s not that languages and coding languages are the exact same, though there is definitely coding advice that applies to language learning advice and vice versa, but through studying French I’d already discovered my learning style. I know what to learn first, how long to study it for, good memorisation exercises, whether to start with a course or jump right into a project and learn what I need as I go, etc.

When I made my first video game, I was still a noob at both language learning and coding. So even though I’d followed along with a whole 7 hour Unity tutorial, yes I was able to make a game (well, more like Google and coding forums were able to make a game), but today I can barely type one line of C# fluently. It’s luckily the opposite with HTML. I can create at least a simple website without having to look anything up, like how I can talk about my day in French without looking up translations. If you’re interested in hearing some of my methods to achieve this, stay tuned because I might make a post about it in the future! The most amazing feeling is when you come across a problem in your code, after you’ve acquired the building blocks for a language, and you’re able to mix things together and use what you’ve learnt to find the solution yourself, even if it’s far from the most efficient one.

Anyway, as for everything else, it’s been a while since I deliberately went out to take photos with my camera. I can’t really use the excuse that it’s been “winter” either, because “winter” for Perth is basically just summer but 5 degrees lower, with the occasional grey or rainy day. But I’ve still kind of been acting like it’s winter, and so has Astro, my cat, who’s fluffing and fattening up, and also getting darker (fun fact: Siamese “change colours” depending on the temperature!) Unfortunately, he was a bit sick and injured recently. But we took him to the vet and he’s feeling & looking way better now.

Since my brother is getting into writing stories, I offered some time ago to draw pictures to go along with one of his projects, and so now, everytime he finishes a new chapter or scene, I get on to drawing it. This has been really fun, and I’m glad that those two years of learning how to draw has paid off. I just wish I had taken it less seriously. I feel like I could have reached this level in a much shorter amount of time and in a less torturous way. Seeing his stories has also made me wonder whether I should start writing again as well. I’m exploring a concept right now, so we’ll see how that goes!

Overall, I’ve been having a great time recently. This post doesn’t cover everything, I was away for a LONG time. I really enjoyed writing about Astro, so expect to see more posts like that in the future. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon! Bye!