🎓 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Programming

Introduction

Hey, I’m Roshni 🌷 and I recently completed my BCA!
This post is for the me from first year — confused, curious, and lowkey overwhelmed.
If you’re just starting programming or wondering what to focus on, here’s what I learned (the hard way sometimes 😅).

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👶 My Early Programming Journey

Back in BCA’s first semester, I wrote my very first Hello World! in C++.
It was exciting but also overwhelming.
I thought knowing how to code meant knowing everything.
Spoiler: it doesn’t.

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🌀 Challenges I Faced

• Feeling lost with big words like “inheritance” and “pointers”

• Comparing myself to others

• Getting stuck on one bug for hours

• Switching from tutorial to tutorial without real practice

• Overthinking “Which language should I start with?”

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⏳ If I Could Go Back In Time

I'd tell little me:

“You don’t have to know everything. Focus on the basics. Build tiny things. Stay consistent. And yes — it's okay to cry over bugs.”

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📜 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting

1. Understanding logic > memorizing syntax

2. You won’t get it all on day one — and that’s okay

3. Stack Overflow is a savior

4. Googling is a skill

5. Break problems into baby steps

6. Learning one language deeply is better than 5 shallowly

7. Copy-pasting without understanding won’t help

8. Everyone struggles — even pros

9. Build things, not just notes

10. Take breaks. Touch grass 🍃

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How I’m Leveling Up Now 💻

• Learning to build mini projects

• Taking my GitHub profile seriously for the first time

• Created this cozy space called Mood Vault to share & document

• Showing up daily — even if it’s just 20 minutes of learning

Reminding myself that small steps count 🌷

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🌸 Conclusion

Programming is not just about code.
It’s about growing, learning how to learn, and becoming resilient.
It’s okay to struggle — just don’t quit.