Why I failed at learning JavaScript and Python

Before starting to write this post I want to mention something — this is my own experience and it’s something I realized after trying to learn JavaScript and Python. My beliefs and what I say here may not apply to everyone, so if you’re more experienced than me, please comment down below and let us all know your opinion.

So, I tried to learn JavaScript. I failed. Then I tried to learn Python. I failed again. Then I tried other things, and I failed at them too, but I’d like to focus on the reason I failed at those two programming languages and what I learned from my experience.

How it all started

When I was 16 years old I had a YouTube channel focused on promoting music for artists that weren’t so popular. I did that for a few years and I managed to make around $100 — $200 a month and pay for most of the things I needed in high school.

I was happy, but I was pressured by my parents. They were more than sure I’ll never be able to work as a freelancer, and they wanted to see more money coming. They did not care about art, they did not care about creating something beautiful, they just wanted to see money.

Because of that, I decided I should start learning web design & development. I saw a lot of people talking about how much money you can make from selling websites, and when I heard that you can make around $500 from selling one single website, I was more than sure about what I want to do.

I had no idea how to start, so I asked a few people, and they recommended me to start with WordPress, learn how HTML & CSS works, and after that learn PHP as well as possible and maybe even some JavaScript.

I started learning HTML & CSS from W3Schools, then I spent some time learning from THENEWBOSTON, and Codecademy. I learned as much as I could, and by the time I finished I was able to create an unresponsive decent website.

I had no idea what Bootstrap was, so I was literally creating a new VERY long CSS file to make sure I create new sizes for each element so the website would look good on both desktop and mobile.

After that someone finally told me what Bootstrap is and told me it’s a good idea to learn it. Did that, enjoyed it, and I was happy I didn’t have to work 2 more days trying to make my website responsive.

It was a really nice experience, but after some research I realized I won’t do much with those skills only. I needed to learn something more. I tried PHP, and I just hated it. So I started with JavaScript.

Tried W3Schools, then Codedemy, THENEWBOSTON, and finally, Free Code Camp.

I failed at all of them. I mean, I finished most of the courses and exercises, but even after that I had no idea how to code in JavaScript. I gave up on Free Code Camp after a few weeks or months, when I got to some exercises that required me to create things that were more complex than what I learned till that point. That’s when I decided I should stop learning JavaScript.

After a few more months I had some serious problems with my computer and I lost most of my files. I discovered the problem came from my Windows, not my computer itself, and I was so mad, and so eager to try something different, that I just installed Ubuntu and started using it as my main operating system.

That’s when I discovered Python. I was looking for new things to learn, and on Quora I found an answer talking about why beginners should learn Python, why Python is great, and how many things you can do with it.

So I started learning that. I tried Codecademy and then Learn Python The Hard Way. I failed again. I was more then sure programming was not for me. I felt really stupid and I lost all my motivation to learn.

The main reason I failed at both of them

Now, here’s where some people may disagree with me, and if that’s the case, please tell me your opinion. I started learning web design & development because I wanted money. I had no interest in websites, I just wanted to build anything and get as much money as possible.

Then I started learning Python just for the sake of doing it. I was not in love with the programming language, neither with all the things people said you could do with it. I just wanted to learn it for the sake of learning it.

And that’s why I failed — I had no main objective.

All my life I did things that mattered, in a way or another. I always tried to avoid doing something useless and losing my time trying to achieve something I either don’t want or don’t need.

And that’s exactly not how I approached programming. Yes, I wanted money and that’s why I started learning about websites, but I really had no idea what kind of projects I wanted to work on. I was just learning HTML, CSS, Bootstrap and JavaScript hoping that I can get $500 a month.

I wasn’t interested in websites, I was interested in money. That’s why when I got stuck with JavaScript, I gave up. I had no goal, no motivation to force myself and try to learn and understand new things.

It was the same with Python. I saw people saying it was really easy to learn, and I wanted to learn it because I was bored. At some point I tried to do it to make some money, but again, that wasn’t a real objective for me. I had no idea what I wanted to create with Python, so, once again, when I got stuck, I gave up.

I was so obsessed with doing something, anything, that I forgot to have a reason for my actions. I did, at some point, have a small goal, to create a very simple text based game in Python. Because I had that goal I managed to learn how functions worked in Python way faster than with JavaScript, but after I created that text based game I was again, a student with no objective.

At some point in my life I even lived under the impression that practicing Python for 2 hours every day is a waste of my time, not an investment. I was so unsure about what I can do with that programming language, that I was sure if I would’ve spend all that time working on design packages and upload them online, I would’ve actually done something.

Of course, I was wrong. I realized that after a while, but the facts still remain — having no objective before learning how to code will not only make everything boring and confusing, but can also make you feel like what you learn is a complete waste of time.

Conclussion

That’s pretty much the reason I failed at programming. It doesn’t have to be true for every person out there, it’s only my personal experience, but I do believe that having a clear objective before starting to learn how to code, will help you learn faster and stick to it when things get harder.

I also won’t give up programming. I’ll spend some time working on other things until I get the things I need (for now, a computer), and then I’ll start learning how to code again, this time, with objectives in mind.

Since I know how HTML & CSS work, I want to create a simple browser game, something very minimal and simple to do. I’ll use Free Code Camp to learn how JavaScript works again, and this time I’ll stick to it, since I have an objective.

And I would also love to learn Python very well, at a professional level, and maybe at some point in life I’ll start learning it again. It would be fun to build a really simple software, with an interface, that will automate some things and help me get some work done faster.

If there’s someone reading this post that gave up on programming when he or she got stuck, try this — take a little time, think about a goal you want to achieve in programming and make a plan for working on a personal project. Write down your plan somewhere, and then start learning how to code once again.

It will be easier for you, because you’ll know what you want to create, and you’ll know what are the things you need.

Programming is fun and interesting. I don’t think it’s worth giving up on because of that lack of objectives, so try to learn new things having an objective in mind.

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