Yo Steemians!

My New Years resolutions this year were to learn something and to figure out how/start to create an income by working from home. After aaaaaaaaaaages googling things I could do for work (blogging, transcribing, buying and selling things on eBay, etc.), I came across programming! What a fun idea.

Now, as a child, I always had quite an affinity for computers and at one point I had even dreamed of becoming a game designer. So I thought to myself, "Why not start now?". This could end up being dream come true. On to SoloLearn.

SoloLearn

I googled where to start learning to code for free (what if I suck too much and waste money? lol), it was the first suggestion I found. The user interface looked great and it even comes with a mobile app for learning on the go! Sweet.

I signed up, deliberated on which language to learn, chose C++ and dove in! The course was set out very simply, with modules that you have to complete to progress onto the next (much like Duolingo, if you've ever tried to learn a language). There is the option to take a shortcut if you've already got some background knowledge in C++ coding, which will skip through some modules after testing you (I have no coding experience, soooooo I started from the beginning. Fun!).

After getting through the first few modules, which were basically just an intro and a link to download coding software, the lessons really began. Each module has multiple lessons within itself, with a slide by slide format, usually alternating between giving you new information and a question (which you have to pass to move onto the next slide). Every module has a quiz at the end, just to make sure you've retained the information.

So, I was breezing through the modules, and thinking to myself, "Wow, this is pretty easy. Maybe I'm more talented than I realised.". And then it happened. I hit the More On Classes module and started reading. It was like a completely different language! I had no idea what was happening.

Amazingly, SoloLearn has a comment section for each slide, where people post advice and information (SUPER HELPFUL). I've since revised over and over again until the information SoloLearn was giving me wasn't just a jumble of code that did stuff. I'm now moving forward at a slower pace, and going over information repeatedly to make sure it sticks in my brain.

Phew!

What I've found is a grand appreciation of coding, and a fear of how much I'm going to have to learn for this to be a viable source of income.

This is just my first step (thanks SoloLearn) and I'm super excited for what's to come!

Wish me luck,

BDW