Bootcamp challenges and how I have adapted in the last few weeks

Adapting to the new style has been something not really easy for me, adaptability means adapting to change, I have learnt to have an open mind, and not just accepting any change, I need to know the outcome of the change such as the effect it will have on me.
One of the challenges I faced at the boot camp is the fact that I was new to most of the tools used. I have been working on Javascript all these while but not to an extent of using it at a full stack level.
Using Eslint , to write ES6-javascript while adhering to the air-bnb style, code versioning with a recommended git workflow, using pivotal tracker, using Travis ci , TDD are among those features I have not used before.

I wrote down all the features at first using a scale of preference of how important they are, and then searched the internet to find materials including videos on them one after the order according to my list. After doing this, I got familiar with most of them and started learning. with these steps, I was able to tackle the week 1 and 2 challenge. Whenever I get stuck, I check google for solutions, if Google cannot help I meet fellow colleagues and then meet my LFA if there is no solution from others.

Overall, I see the whole process as a challenge, but I developed the mindset of taking the challenge and adapt to the changes, and this has added a lot to me.  

My Experience in bootcamp so far (Day 4)

The journey has not been too easy for me. When I received the invite email for the boot camp, I was happy and at the same time confused about the whole thing. The reason behind my confusion is because most of these technologies listed in the requirements, I had not worked with any before.

The major thing I know is that I have used a bit of JavaScript before, now its time to use the JavaScript to build a full stack application. Well, I took up the challenge in my mind not having a fixed mindset. I told myself that its time to grow, this challenge at the end of the day will make me a better programmer.

With four days gone I can proudly say that I have made the right decision, if not for this challenge sincerely I would not have known all these within a few days. My Learning Facilitator (LFA) has been so great, I learn from him every day. Overall am happy to be at the boot camp for 4 days now and happy to have a good LFA.

An Interesting Tool/Technology I Encountered in Preparation for Bootcamp

Preparation for Bootcamp has been a wonderful experience for me preparing for me. A tool that looked very interesting to me is ESLint, I like the interaction with other tools but this tool usually makes me feel happy when coding.

Eslint is a tool used to structure your code and follow a particular pattern during development. This is a tool that usually makes me feel like running and leaving the system whenever I see the error generated from each file. After some days, I got used to this style and it has always been fun for me, to the extent that I can remember most of the rules while coding thereby generating a minimal error.

Why Use ESLint?

Eslint is a tool responsible for reporting patterns, a standard project should have well defined stable coding conventions, without a coding convention it will be difficult for another developer to pick a fellow developers code and make changes. Besides the coding convention, Eslint can also be used to effectively check for errors in lines of code. It has a way of crawling through the whole code files present. An error message will be generated for any line that does not conform to the defined rules.

The use of Eslint in Andela is of great importance because it leads to having a stable pattern which all Andelans must adhere to.

My Reflection on Andela Epic Values

I must really disclose that ever since I have stumbled across the Andela EPIC values, it has been a great achievement for me. I have applied it to everything I do generally in life. The Good thing about it is that it does not apply only to Andela Environment or life as an Andelan. It applies to every human existence in all ramifications

EPIC in Andela stands for E::--Excellence, P::--Passion, I::--Integrity and C::--Collaboration.
EPIC values in Adelas context are set of values that must be adhered too as an Andelan or a Defacto Andelan.

Excellence
Excellence is all about striving to bring out the best in you. There needs to be a reflection on your daily activities which in turn make you better than you were yesterday.

Andela believes a culture of excellence will pave way for excellence in every individual

Passion
Passion as an Andela value talks about having true interest and love for what you do. When you have a strong passion, you get going irrespective of the circumstance that surrounds you or any obstacle on the way. Passion is very important to be successful at Andela


Integrity
As an Andelan, you need to be honest as this will reflect in anything you do. Not adhering to this value can be a criterion for being evicted from Andela

Collaboration
As an Andelan, collaboration is very important, you need to be able to interact with others easily. When you interact and teach people, you get to learn from them easily. This an avenue to work with others effectively and be smart as well.

Hope you had a good read. Thanks.

How I Demonstrated Growth Mindset Lately

A growth mindset is simply a belief that intelligence is unchangeable, and also mindset can be shaped by the entry we receive from our environment. Recently when I received the mail that contained the whole tasks for the Andela Boot-camp week 1 and 2, I was marveled at first looking at it thinking how I will achieve this numerous tasks.

I actually have not worked with most tools listed or familiar with any of them, but I had this mindset that I can achieve execution of the tasks irrespective of the circumstances surrounding me. Growth mindset came in to play here because at first, I do not know anything about the tools, I did not see it as a limitation but saw it as a means to develop and grow more. After checking the tools listed and the tasks, I was able to determine my skill gap. I dealt with the skill gap issue by first having a comprehensive list of those things which included the use of Nodejs, Pivotal tracker, es-lint, coveralls, Mocha and others.

After generating a complete list, I reflected on them all, I then researched on google, and looked for materials on those new tools. I was able to understand some of the tools such as Pivotal Tracker, Es-lint, and reached out to colleagues who are knowledgeable on those domains for the remaining that were giving issues. The tasks were above my skill level but I embraced them as a challenge. Using the method above really helped my workflow as I was able to flow with some of these tools, and can proudly say these things I saw as a challenge turned out to be an opportunity for growth, and I am willing to take in more of this challenges like this.

In conclusion, developing a fixed mindset retards or does not allow growth. We should be optimistic to learn new tasks every day, with an open mindset, with this there are no bounds to what we can achieve.