The last few weeks have been different for me. My schedule prior to late last month was a very loose one. I could whatever I wanted whenever I thought was fit. I was a front-end developer with a free schedule…enter Andela Boot Camp.

Andela runs a tight ship, and even if they didn’t, the challenges put before we boot-campers have made us to realize that major parts of our lives going forward, need restructuring. As a front-end developer, I had lots of changes that I had to implement. Writing server-side code was never my thing, it was something I actually dreaded. But here I am writing them anyways. I have had to learn writing Javascript on the back-end which looked like a different language at first but I had no choice but to get the hang of it and I am glad that I did. Now I can with some confidence say I am a full-stack developer. The experience hasn’t been as bad as anticipated…it hasn’t been bad at all.

As a man who needs sleep, I have come to realize that sleep can be put off for a while to achieve a certain goal, or as some people will say…sleep is for the weak. I have found myself going to bed really late in the night/morning and waking up very early…if at all I go to bed. It has been amazing seeing how sleep can skip the mind when a goal must be achieved.

As a man that loves to eat, I have found that I think less of food than I used to which is fine because I was planning to go on a diet anyway.

I have had to work with people who I didn’t know before the boot camp and I am glad about that because I have been able to learn a lot from them and share whatever knowledge I might have.

Every step of the way, the boot camp has given me a reason to adapt to different situations and it has been great knowing how many different hats I can wear within a short period of time.

It’s almost a week now since the Andela boot camp kicked off. It wasn’t an exaggeration when the boot camp was described as intensive. I have gained in less than a week what would have probably taken me months to grasp. Some mastery has been attained in the use of certain tools I didn’t even know existed.

Applying for this boot camp was the right way to go. Knowledge aside, I have made new connections and wonderful acquaintances. In the course of our interactions, I have been able to gain some knowledge and had the privilege of sharing what I know.

Prior to this boot camp, I could only say I was a front-end developer but now I can work on the backend with some confidence.

My LFA (supervisor) helped in this growth as well. Pointing me in the right direction whenever I got stuck and raising the bar when I attempted to deliver averagely.

The past four days have been amazing no doubt. It hasn’t just been fun but it has been impactful as well. I hope to continue on this path with Andela and surround myself with lifelong learners so we can all help each other grow and raise each other’s spirits whenever we feel like giving up. Gracias.

 

Since my journey in programming, I have mostly worked with the front-end. I did all my best to avoid working on the back end. “A front-end web developer”, I always replied when asked, “what do you do?”

Don’t get me wrong, I had it at the back of my mind that I was going to learn back-end development someday, just didn’t know how soon ‘someday’ was…Andela gave me no choice.

Funny thing is it hasn’t been as bad as I thought it was going to be, challenging, yes but really interesting. I’ve been working with Javascript for a while now so I thought it would be really cool if I could continue with Javascript on the back-end…enter Node.js.

Node.js is a tool that allows developers to write Javascript on the back end and it doesn’t come alone, no, it comes bearing gifts. One of such gifts is npm. npm is a package manager that comes with Node. It allows developers to choose and install packages from the thousands of packages that have been made available.

One of these packages is Express. Express is a lightweight framework that most developers work with when building applications. ‘Lightweight’ because it gives allows you to make as many customizations as you want, unlike some others (e.g. Ruby on Rails) that do most of the work for you.

There are also fun packages made available by npm. Cat-me helps you ASCII cats in your console (basically draws cats with different character combinations). Then there is knock-knock-jokes that just, as the name implies, outputs cheesy knock-knock-jokes.

There are lots of tools, from really silly and fun (cat-me), to really serious tools (Express) made available, and I have found that there are hardly any limits with Node. Hence I hope to continue working with this amazing tool and get much better in using it.

Andela’s Boot camp kicked off yesterday and we, the boot-campers, were briefed on a few things. One of the things we were spoken to about was Andela’s EPIC values; the four major pillars that the organization was built upon. These values are Excellence, Passion, Integrity, and Collaboration. Prior to now, I saw these words as just a catchphrase (or catchwords). But we were made to understand that true Andelans have to imbibe these values in their everyday lives, not just as programmers, but as people too. I don’t plan to be any different.
Excellence:
I must work towards being the best possible version of myself at whatever stage of growth I find myself in. No half measures; I go all the way or I don’t go at all. With this life approach, impossible is nothing. Every obstacle will be viewed only as an opportunity to grow. When I am given a task I try to deliver way above expectation.
Passion:
“I believe I can change the world and act accordingly…”
As someone that believes he will impact change to the world positively, I must constantly seek to learn. When blockers are encountered, I will not let them discourage my will. When a fellow Andelan is faced with blockers, I join forces with him/her to overcome the blocker in question. No mountain will stop my progress.
Integrity:
I must stay true to my values, and the values of the organization. I must do the right thing always. No shortcuts, I must go about every task put before me the way I ought to. When a situation occurs around me that is against my values or that of the organization, I bring it up and discuss it with all parties involved. If the situation persists, I discuss it with the appropriate authorities.
Collaboration:
I do not know it all; neither does any of my peers. In order to change the world, I must work together with my peers, filling my gaps and helping to fill theirs. It is not worth it if we do not grow together. I am not an island. When faced with a challenge I reach out for help if I am finding difficult to resolve that challenge. When approached for help by a colleague, I unwaveringly offer all the help I can give.
We learned yesterday that there’s a ‘Cm’ too…Commitment
Commitment:
I am committed to delivering on any task put before me above expectations. I am committed to achieving all my goals, present, and future. I am determined to change the world, I am determined to grow, I am determined to be better today than I was yesterday.
All these values I hope to match and surpass as an Andelan. Thank you for reading.

I am a recent University graduate, 2017 last year to be precise. Coming out of school, I was excited about this new world I was going to face…ready to spread my wings and fly. That feeling did not last long.

There was an event shortly after my convocation where I met someone; he asked me what I studied. I told him proudly. “Oh wow”, he said, “so can you…” he asked if I could do certain things related to my course of study. I found myself answering “no” a couple of times (let’s face it; most of what we are taught in school are theoretical). It dawned on me that I knew nothing.

This encounter woke up something in me. I realized then was a good time to pick up some skills I always wanted to have. I found myself getting materials on programming. Started with Python, moved on to Android development and my interest peaked when I started learning Web development.

This in my opinion was the point I started demonstrating the growth mindset. I knew nothing about programming but, hey, I picked it up anyways. It has its challenges, yeah but funny thing is dealing with these challenges has actually been the fun part of my journey. When I began to view them as milestones and overcoming them as a sign of improvement, it made me seek for more of these challenges.

I have had the opportunity to learn under wonderful tutors and teach a few students the little I know in the past year, and this journey has been amazing. I find myself wanting to learn more everyday and this learning hunger is what led me to Andela.

I’m here at the boot camp and that hopefully is a sign of some growth. Not where I want to be yet in terms of programming skills but the beauty of all this is that I have found that nobody really is…there is always room for improvement at whatever level you find yourself in.

On a side note…I also picked up Spanish (It’s a beautiful language, sue me). Not gotten anywhere yet but it’s really fun learning new languages, whether they’re spoken by humans or compiled by machines.

At the end of this boot camp, come what may, I am confident that I will not be on the same level I was when I came in. Growth continues…

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton