Oh, no…It’s my mortal enemy, JavaScript.

How is JavaScript different from CSS? In what ways? How are they similar?

So the main way JavaScript differs from CSS is that I hate it.

Well…hate is a strong word. I think a better way of explaining my relationship with JavaScript is by comparing it to owning a cat. You love the cat and want to keep in your home but you know to do that you must feed the cat and clean its litter box. You can’t have a living breathing thing without the stuff it takes to care for them. I can make things look as pretty as I want them in CSS but if I want a functioning website that can store cookies and make elements behave with one another, you need JavaScript.

How do you map the many different DOM methods and properties in your mind? How would you describe them to a non-developer?

This is a super hard thing for me to describe, have you ever used a bento lunchbox? The boxes sit inside one another. I take my wireframe or my sketch of what i want my page to look like and then I start with the rectangles or squares. It’s like if you were to draw one square and then continue to draw squares inside those squares. The squares act as my containers for different elements which allow me to move or stack my webpage however I would like.

What do you find surprising about coding so far? Do you find anything easy? What? Why?

The main thing I find surprising is the fact that I'm doing it.

I never really look at anything as easy because it puts me in the wrong mindset, gives me a big head. Since I am still learning I find everything challenging and if its not as challenging I try to make it so. There wont be any personal growth unless I make it personal and push myself. I have been having a bunch of fun though, never thought I would enjoy banging on my keyboard so much.

What’s difficult about coding for you? Why?

The most difficult thing would be the words themselves. I am dyslexic so words or strings of words like to move or get jumbled. Looking at that fact and looking at coding…you can see how that wouldn't be an ideal situation. Some times are worse than others but I push through, I can’t let aspects like that to handicap me.

Oh and of course, JavaScript. Not much to explain there yet just that my brain does not quite understand it yet.

What’s cool about Event Listeners? Why are they useful and what more would you like to learn about them?

Well from what I have an understanding of right now the event listener is there to perform an action after another action or event occurs. They are useful by grabbing peoples attention. Imagine: You are online shopping for some Toilet Paper (gold in today's day in age) and when you get to the home page you get an pop up that says “SUBSCRIBE TO OUR EMAIL OR ELSE” something like that. That event was done by an event listener waiting for you to click on the home page.

Now there are probably other useful uses for them, but JavaScript is frying my brain enough as it is, one thing at a time.

Why are you motivated? Why are you in this class?

I want to create, expand, improve, and ultimately settle down with a career that I enjoy and can support my family with. I have always been a hardworker and one sadly doesn't make that much as a dancer so I always had around 2–3 jobs on the side. Working yourself in the ground really doesn't give much space for creative growth. I wasn't able to express myself anymore the way I loved to and now that things have slowed down I finally have the chance to invest in where I want to go in life. Coding is something I can literally take with me anywhere for as long as my brain is functioning and I can continue to create when my body no longer can.

But like I said,

I surprisingly like banging away at my keyboard all day.