Is This Struggle normal?

Haven't studied java but, having been thru many courses and seen many comments regarding the same type of thing, you just have to keep at it. Sometimes it is having to watch the same course over and over as well. Some of the courses I went thru doing the Front End Development were very confusing and frustrating. Looking up materials helped quite a bit and, practicing doing what you already know also helps solidify and perhaps will make things click.

Having just completed my portfolio, I can tell you that even though I was confident getting started, there was still quite the struggle getting it finished when things seemed like they should work but didn't. Feels like a big accomplishment now but, I honestly believe that if you stick with it, rewatch, take notes you can do it.

I still am going to go back and speed watch thru the javaScript course because that was the area I struggled the most with and, have a much better understanding so want to watch and review things that I didn't actually use.

The most important thing I can could tell you is that if you want it, you can do it. It may not be easy at first but, when it comes to new things especially things we don't understand you have to keep at it and it will come. Just think about classes you've taken in the past and how much you stressed over a test and when it was done you felt so much better...same thing.

I think I'll let the boards answer this question. Go to the community tab and under the "All topics" dropdown pick Java. Then in your search type "too fast". I think you might be surprised at the amount of advice there is out there, and other people who have had this same struggle

You know something... I go through this struggle daily almost daily, with any programming language I try to learn. I think Java is a lot of fun. I can follow along the videos just fine But I too struggle with knowing how to apply what I have learned to new situations.

But I know it is sinking in somewhere. How? Because I can debug the code that I have written or that someone else has written. And nothing gives me more pleasure in programming that debugging code and making problems go away..

Now, I have completed the Hangman game in the Java Objects course (bar a few videos) And I'm still unsure on Helper functions, on Objects, on classes. how to reference a method. How to output strings to the console, not necessarily because I've gotten what I have learned but the logic behind it all.

My advice would be as everyone else says, stick at it and believe Craig Dennis when he says that knowing the skills in this course will stand you in great stead for your future. I believe he even says all the common tricks of a Java programmer are taught in this course.

Oh and one more thing I forgot to add about "looking for answers". At this point I'm assuming you mean look on the internet for answers and searching through forum posts on Treehouse. That's okay. It's what the community is here for. Just as long as you look into it further yourself and what the community are saying in their answers.

Throughout your professional life as a programmer you are going to be looking things up. Craig makes this point in the Java track you are not expected to memorise, every method, datatype or class out there. You're not, That's what the documentation is there for. Some languages have better documentation than others but the point is the skill is not in memorising code so much, but in knowing how to look for the information you need and apply your code.

So of course, practice. Of course write code and make mistakes... but also learn how to look for ways to solve your problems whether be out there on Google or in the Java Docs. It's not cheating! :-)