I Learned to Code

Coding until my eyes turn purple.

Y’all. I learned to code. !!!

Okay, so it was an introductory course. And online. But nonetheless it was a Stanford class, taught by incredible professors Chris Piech and Mehran Sahami, who so graciously offered their time to the world through the Code in Place program during this difficult time.

I remember as a child I vowed never to never get into computer science because my parents would sit in front of their computers all day staring at code. I kind of grew up despising their disregard for my odd imaginative creative-type hobbies. I told myself I never wanted to become a lifeless software engineer sitting at a desk all day. I wanted to be an artist, a creative visionary who spent my in the real world. I rejected every chance I had to learn about tech, and boy am I still paying for that foolish mentality a decade later.

Anyway, I started this 5-week course early April. Chris and Mehran had put together an amazing virtual course on short-notice, with the help of volunteers from around the world who offered to tutor. We learned Karel and Python by watching recorded lectures 3 days a week and doing assignments on the weekends. I was thrilled to be learning. Something about the combination of enthusiastic and passionate professors, high quality education, a well-organized course website, the support of thousands of classmates from around the world, and the pure thrill of being able to create with code was nothing short of life-changing. Not only did it provide a solid foundation for the start of my coding journey, this one-of-a-kind course allowed me to find my passion for learning again.

I’m really writing this blog post to highlight how unbelievable of an experience this was during such a challenging time. I spent those 5 weekends sitting in front of code for hours, having more fun than I’ve ever had solving logic problems and debugging. The world was crumbling as we know it but I shut myself in my room, happily coding away.

This was the final project I spent half a day furiously writing, where I practiced using lists and dictionaries to create a basic version of YNAB (I really love the product but don’t want to pay for it.) I apologize in advance for the awkward narration recorded right before the midnight deadline.

A personal finance app that allows you to create a budget. Input the amount of money you want to budget out for different categories, and add transactions that will then be used to calculate your available budget.

Check out more of my classmates’ projects here. These are from students around the world, many of whom aren’t as privileged as I am but got the opportunity to learn to code for the first time, thanks to the generosity of the professors and volunteers who organized this online course. Chris Piech, I’m beyond inspired by your passion for teaching and your vision for open-access to high-quality education at scale. When I’m qualified enough, I can’t wait to give back to the community in any way I can.

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