I am now in the homestretch of my associates’ degree, and it feels nice to finally be done with my general ed requirements. Coming back from winter break to write html from scratch was indeed humbling, but I feel like I’ve gotten back into the swing of things quickly.
This week, I have gotten back into the routine of school. Six weeks was evidently not enough time to accomplish the goals I had set for myself, but I am simultaneously glad that the break was not so long that I forgot everything I learned in the fall. I am very much looking forward to having the first proper summer break since 2023.
For the first time since I started college, I am only taking classes that are specific to my degree and all of my classes are asynchronous. I am also only taking three classes, which is the fewest I’ve had in a single semester. Based on the (comparatively) very light combined workload of all my classes, I think I will have room to work on some personal growth and make progress on my side projects this semester. I am relieved that I will be able to turn my portfolio website from an item at the bottom of my ever-growing todo list into a candidate for my final project. And, I am extra relieved to finally be free of extraneous discussion boards.
So far, I am really enjoying the pace of this class. It’s enough content to keep me learning and engaged, but not so much that it becomes overwhelming. The lack of busywork is very refreshing. So far, I’ve learned that there is still a lot for me to learn in the field of web development. But, I’ve also learned that there is a lot I already know, which is helping to keep the imposter syndrome at bay. Overall, I have a positive outlook for this semester and am excited to take classes that I want to take.
The biggest takeaway from the first two weeks in AAD86 is that I need to make a consistent effort to look back at the peer reviews for my assignments, a resource that I haven’t been fully utilizing thus far. Reading the notes on my Resume assignment jogged my memory from my previous web dev classes. The first draft was a rushed shot in the dark; the second attempt was much more refined and skillful. I feel a lot more equipped to handle the challenges that this class has set forth after a bit of warm up html exercises. I know I have the skills and the knowledge, now it’s time to practice them and continue learning.
Where experience fails us, stackoverflow and w3schools will be our saviors.
Cheers, and happy coding.
Alex