So, summer is here I guess and everything is all coming to an end. Courses ends, some students I see again in another course, some are off creating their new future and some are just on a little break over the summer. For the ones that I say goodbye to a lot of them are on their way to new beginnings. Wherever they might go I always hope that I gave them something of value.
I often say that coding is not about the code itself it’s about your motivation, it’s about learning how to look at problems in different angles and most important part it’s about self development.
It’s about taking the responsibility to put in the time that’s needed, it’s about really challenging yourself and going way out of your comfort zone and it’s about letting yourself make mistakes but to learn from them. It’s about growing as a person as much as actually learning the syntax. Learning how to program can be that one thing that finally makes you take a leap and throw yourself out into the unknown.
When I read my students code I can see their personality. It gives me a brief look of what their mind is like. It tells me how I should approach the student and how I should guide that student forward. That’s one of the things that I truly love about teaching programming.
It’s a personal access key to your mind.
I’ve had more students this year than ever before. The reason for that is after two years in my own business working with different projects and clients I realised that it gives me absolutely no satisfaction at all. I don’t feel the need to please demanding clients. A very wise person asked me a few days ago:
“Helena do you know why you always get very upset and annoyed with your clients but you never ever say anything about your students? They never get to you.”
And yes, you might need to know me a little bit to get the whole picture here, But I'm a person that is a little bit "square", I don't like small talk or bullshit and I most definitely don't like overcomplicating stuff. I say what's on my mind, for both good and bad...
And what she said was true. My clients get to me cause of a lot of reasons but my students never do. And do you know why?
Cause what I give to you has a human value. When I see you grow, I grow. And that’s a feeling that nothing else beats. That is exactly what motivates me to become better, that is what motivates me when I work 12 hours a day and that is why I want to keep on doing this.
You are the reason I do this.
For me coding has meant setting myself free. It has made me overcome my fears, it has challenged my mind and it made me grow as a person not only as a programmer.
I hope that you some day feel the same.
So thank you all for this year, I’ve grown a lot.
I wish you nothing but the best.
/Helena
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