If I started coding from ZERO…

It was the first day of my computer science journey, and I was more than ready to dive into the vast world of coding. But, like many others, I was clueless about the road ahead. Looking back on my five years, I realize I’ve made more mistakes than I can count. And it’s safe to say, a lot of those mistakes could’ve been avoided. So, if you’re just starting or are in the middle of your own CS journey, stick around because these lessons might just save you months (or even years) of confusion and frustration.

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I still remember my first programming class. The excitement was real, but I had no idea where to begin. Do I learn Python? C++? Java? Or should I just dive straight into JavaScript because everyone seemed to be talking about it? It felt like I was standing in front of an overwhelming buffet of languages, unsure which dish to pick first.

I spent weeks overthinking my decision, wondering if I was choosing the “right” language. The advice from peers and online forums didn’t help much either — one person swore by Java, another pushed Python, and yet someone else claimed C++ was the foundation of everything. It felt like I couldn’t win.

Then, reality hit me. Programming languages are just tools. It’s the underlying concepts — variables, data structures, algorithms — that matter. Whether it’s Python, Java, or C++, they all do the same thing…