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peterrrrrrr
564 PointsDevastated after this course
I am really unhappy. Craig said in the video 'look how much you have managed to stitch together, look at what you created, etc' but I don't get it, any of it and I'm devastated. I have gone through this beginner course twice now and it goes over my head, it just doesn't go in and I feel like crying.
I am so sad, I don't understand it. When Craig kept saying 'you got this pause me I felt so upset because no, I don't get this, I am a huge failure and this has gone over my head yet again. I can't remember any of it and I am such a huge massive failure
I've let myself down I don't deserve to carry this programming on
2 Answers
AJ Tran
Treehouse TeacherHey peterrrrrrr ,
I want to let you know about how I felt when I was starting out for the first time too. I was learning by myself and I didn't know where to turn for help. I struggled a lot and it took me YEARS to learn the basics. Please remember that we have a robust community here of learners from all different levels of understanding. Learning new things is better with help!
You can always turn to the Community for support! If you are ever feeling lost or stuck on a concept, no matter how basic it is, it's okay to ask for help! It can make the difference between struggling unproductively and overcoming struggle while learning new things.
Peter, one thing that helped me make a lot of progress in learning as a beginner was actually writing down notes in a paper journal. I would watch a video or read an article, and then write down the concept being taught in my own words. Then I would also write down a code example, by copying the code examples from the video or article.
I highly recommend taking notes by hand while you are learning code as a beginner! It will make a big difference to have paper notes to study away from the computer. And if you are watching a video and don't quite remember a prior concept -- you will be able to look back at your notes to quickly freshen up your memory.
Over time, if you keep a journal and study, even if it's little by little... you will witness how much knowledge you have obtained by filling out the pages. You might even need more than one notebook :)
It's ok to not "get it" the first few times. It's ok to go slow and repeat things -- it's actually necessary sometimes. Repetition is a classic way to learn a new thing. The more you try it out, over time it will become more familiar.
Please don't give up! Take a break! I would even recommend visiting this material on How To Learn from the Treehouse Library before coming back to Python Basics. There are really good Teacher's Notes that will help you formulate a learning strategy for your next attempt.
I hope you will feel better about this the next time!!
peterrrrrrr
564 PointsThank you so much :D SO kind of you to reply and make me feel much better about things, thank you :D
Martin Balon
43,651 PointsHi Peter,
I know how you feel. I've been learning programming for years and feel the same from time to time. Even my friends who work in different fields but need to keep up with new technology sometimes feel the same. It's completely normal.
Don't give up just yet. I would suggest different sources for learning the basics. Go on youtube and watch few python basics videos or purchase a course on udemy and then come back to learn more. You will see that with time you will learn more.
I know you can do it, Peter!
Brandon White
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 34,662 PointsBrandon White
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 34,662 PointsHi peterrrrrrr,
When you say you don't get any of it, do you truly not get any of it (like you don't understand what a variable is, or a function, a for loop, a list, etc), or do you understand what those things are, but you simply don't understand how and when to use them to solve a particular problem?
Like, do you know how to declare and initialize a variable? Do you know the syntax of a function in python? Do you know how to declare of list? Do you know the method used to add an item to a list?