2020 in brief.
If you came here to read another story of how this past year has not lived up to anyone’s potential, you are encouraged to keep browsing. While, I’m aware that this past year has seen the lives of many turned upside down, my summary of it will be rather positive. After all, it is the summary of my 2020 and how the disruption of the pandemic was a blessing in disguise.
In essence, my journey began right at the start of the national lockdown, which for the UK was the last week in March. I found myself with plenty of spare time which inevitably led to the realisation that life up to that point has not been up to snuff for me. I was ecstatic that the prospect of another boring barista shift had been wiped out and thanks to government intervention I was able to essentially live the life of a student, all expenses paid. Earlier on, I had started an online introductory course to Computer Science offered by edX; the famous CS50. My prior lifestyle left very little quality free time to actually delve deep into the material, but the lockdown meant that free time was abound. And this was the story of how I got hooked to everything related to programming, computers and the scientific discipline that encompasses all of the above and more.
But why stop there? After hunting around on the web, I realised that the resources required to help me gain relevant knowledge was readily available online. For someone whose main raison d’etre has always been the acquisition of knowledge, this felt like Christmas had fallen on my birthday. Courses on linear algebra, logic, discreet mathematics and operating systems followed soon thereafter. In particular, Coursera’s Nand2Tetris pt1 was information-packed and very intense but went a long way to demystify the inner workings of the computer and introduced me to the concept of assembly language. For that, I am forever grateful.
As the autumn rolled round and I had to go back to work, my decision to return on a part-time basis had been solidified. My employer being accommodating gave me the green light to plough on with my original plan. A course on the theory of computer science followed along with taking the time to double down on the key concepts touched on by CS50. By the way, if you were wondering how useful a theoretical course was, given that I am not following a set curriculum, I would say with some confidence that it has made me aware of the underlying mechanisms as well as implications of every single keystroke when I am sitting down to code. This leads us to the last few weeks. I have finally finished all problem sets for CS50, including my very first application, and started on my first course on algorithms aptly, named Algorithms 1. I am stuck at week one already but that’s to be expected since I am tackling an intellectually challenging course on my own, in a language I am not at all familiar with.
Plenty of exciting plans lie ahead for 2021. Firstly, I am actively going to be applying for entry-level roles or internships in the months to come. I am continuing with CS50’s web development course, as it provides more specific knowledge. Knowing that I’ll be stuck with algorithms, I’ll concentrate my efforts on understanding the course content and actively apply the underlying principles to my programming. Finally, I will continue to enrich my knowledge of computers through Nand2Tetris pt2.
That was my 2020 in brief. Heaps to look forward to in the coming months.