💻 Life in Code #24: find something that scares you... 😨

what up codemaster?!

I'm nervous and excited. This weekend, I do the dry run of my first-ever conference talk, MUD to OOP: Intro to Object-Oriented JavaScript in Online Text-Based RPGs!

So basically, I have a really supportive freeCodeCamp Meetup that I host the first Saturday of every month at my apartment complex. I've brought friends in to speak before, like our #CodeNewbie friend Andy Haskell (@andyhaskell2013), who came to speak with us 2 months ago about the Go language!

I'm going to do great, though... and you know how I know?

I am 100% in love with all aspects of this talk. I picked a perfect first-time topic!

I love Object-Oriented Programming as a programming paradigm. It sits nicely with my neuroatypical brain, which can model it easily.

I am a giant nerd and love my RPGs. I played online text-based RPGs for most of my childhood! ⚔️

I love JavaScript, and wanted to challenge myself to learn as much about OOP as possible, and really cool uses for it.

And above all? I LOVE TEACHING!!! 👩🏽‍🏫💕

I get to stand at the front of a room and demonstrate how a weapon or food/drink can be represented as an object in JavaScript, and how objects can interact with one another. Yup, I'm pretty much going to be having the time of my life!

My challenge to you this week is to find something that scares you, but that you ultimately know will take you to new heights.

I never imagined I'd be a public speaker of any sort considering I wanted to pee myself in school whenever I had to do a presentation.

But, I can tell you from the heart: when you love something, you're willing to push your boundaries for it.

On a related note... right after I practice my in-person talk, I'll be doing a FINAL (yes, really final this time) webinar on problem solving!

I'm having so much fun with these live webinars—and it's great conference speaking practice 😉— I'll be holding one last Problem Solving Tips for New Coders live webinar on Sunday, July 14th at 7:00 PM EST!

During the webinar, you'll learn some great, actionable tips for habit changes and approaches you can build starting TODAY (well, Sunday).

I had someone up on Twitter afterwards telling me that the next code challenge they faced, they immediately considered what I told them and it helped them considerably in terms of confidence.

If you CAN'T make it, no worries. I'll be sending a replay link. BUT there's also a bonus offer for attendees at the end of the webinar that expires on Monday at 11:59 PM EST. So try to make it, please!

Grab a spot in the webinar now!

Alrighty friend, onto this week's hand-picked resources!

Peace, love, and code,

P.S. Follow me on Twitter @lavie_encode, and I'll see you at the webinar! :)

👩🏽‍💻 goodies

🎙 Harvard CS50's David Malan and Colton Ogden share the history of their free online Computer Science course (via @freecodecamp)

📝 How personal projects make you a better developer (via @FlippedCoding)

📝 5 ways to avoid disappointment while learning to code (via ME :D @lavie_encode)

📝 My first year as a "real dev" (via @johannalee)

📝 The stages of learning (via @zellwk)

📝 The top 5 things you need to know to be successful as a junior developer (via @JeromeHardaway)

📝 Don't miss out on CSS variables! (via @tim_deschryver)

📝 How I started existing on the internet (via @taillogs)

🔗 Dev.to has a "jokes" tag—you're welcome! 😆

Psssst... you're awesome! ✨