I've been on a journey to learn coding, but it's been anything but straightforward. The constant question of where to start and which language to focus on has been overwhelming. I’ve followed countless courses, feeling like I was making progress, only to find myself back at square one when left to work on my own. It felt like I was stuck in an endless cycle of learning without actually doing anything.
Recently, I decided to break the cycle. I opened up the Cursor app and asked (maybe it was more like whining to) the AI for a project I could build in 30 minutes to an hour—something small, just to get a win under my belt. It suggested a simple to-do app in Python that would let me add items through a browser window, and they'd show up on the screen. I was intrigued but also puzzled. How could one small Python file do all that? Where was the HTML file? The CSS? (I know a little).
Then I noticed it: Cursor had me install Flask. When I asked what Flask was, the AI explained that it’s a micro web framework that handles the web interface, making it easy to create simple web apps. That was my "ah-ha" moment. I repeated the word "Flask" to myself, smiling as it clicked. I didn’t need to know exactly how Flask worked—just that it made the process easier. And that realization brought with it a new perspective.
I'm not going to be a traditional coder, and that's okay. I don’t need to understand every technical detail to create something. Just like I don’t need to know how every part of a car works to drive it, I don’t need to know how every piece of code functions to build with it. The tools available today handle a lot of the complexity, allowing me to focus on what I want to create. I can learn the details as I go, but I don’t have to be an expert to start building.
That’s where I’m at now—embracing the fact that I can make things without knowing everything. It’s a freeing realization, and it’s what’s going to keep me moving forward.
