How I feel when I am able to contribute one small thing to this weekend's group project.
In all fairness it might not be a small contribution if it ends up being an important piece to the puzzle of how to separate items in a SQL query. But after watching the other members of my group spitball some really good ideas and suggestions, I still feel like maybe I'm not bringing a lot to the table. Or at least I should talk more.
Which is a great point for people entering a bootcamp. Don't be afraid to speak up and throw ideas out there. Especially in group projects. Your idea might be the perfect solution for a problem. Or if its not, it might spark someone else to think differently and come up with the right path. It seems to me that the worst path is total silence. I get it that everyone is trying hard to learn the material and memorize things and do well on all of the homework assignments. And it is amazingly stressful. But information is best when its bouncing around freely in the universe. So open your mouth and let those ideas flow. If you feel foolish don't worry about it because that feeling will pass and everyone will have forgotten your question anyway. They've all got their own problems and life situations to deal with, so nobody is going to remember that you asked the difference between props and state at week 7 of your bootcamp.
This weekend we have been tasked with rebuilding Craigslist from front to back, including building a database. This is a massive project for us that encompasses almost everything we have learned in the last 7 weeks. Fortunately we have been allowed to collaborate together as a big team. And we have been allowed to work beyond the weekend if necessary. So the lightened pressure has taken some stress off, even though this is the largest project we have done thus far. Just having a little less on my mind makes it easier to even consider any solutions.
Tonight some of us took time to attend a meet and greet with TechStars, a global tech accelerator that is looking to expand to Las Vegas. There were quite a few entrepreneurs and members of the tech community in attendance and it was nice talking to everyone and hearing their stories. Las Vegas is home to such a wide range of people and everyone brings something different to the tech industry here. I'm excited to bring my own stories to the table and start making a difference in my own way.
Even though I will need every bit of this weekend to complete this project I am still looking forward to getting to visit another local tech company tomorrow.
