Chaos, Code, and Clarity

I came into Web3Bridge with two other learners (both on the Rust track—one of them had even been in a previous Solidity cohort). One of them was actually the person who told me about the program (shoutout to you, bro 👊).

When we arrived at the accommodation, I chose the first room I stepped into. That turned out to be one of the best decisions I made that week. My roommates? Instant vibes — smart, funny, real. It was clear from the start that this journey wouldn’t be one I’d go through alone.

🌍 Diversity, Vibes, and First Impressions (Week 0)

The program is based in Lagos, but you'd barely find up to 20 people here who are actually from Lagos. Almost everyone traveled in from across Nigeria — from states like Enugu, Kaduna, Rivers, and Osun. That alone says a lot about the authenticity and reach of Web3Bridge. You don’t relocate across the country unless you know what’s waiting on the other side is serious.

During Week 0 (yep — we use zero-based indexing here 😅), things were still warming up. Not everyone had arrived yet, so classes hadn't started. But we met Mr. Ebunayo, who gave us a proper welcome and briefed us on what to expect. He made each of us introduce ourselves, share a bit of our background, and from there, the atmosphere started to open up.

Some people already stood out (👀 and no, none of them were females just to be clear lol). One guy from Egbeda was one of the few locals — almost everyone else had stories of long trips and dedication. Mr. Ebunayo’s wife also addressed us later on — super graceful woman 🙌🏾

🍽 Feeding Woes and Food Hacks (Still Week 0)

This part had me in my feelings a bit 😂. I assumed feeding would start immediately, but nope — feeding didn’t begin until Week 1. During Week 0, we were told we had to sort ourselves because many people hadn’t arrived yet.

So we improvised.

Mama Solo was my plug for rice (properly garnished with all the good stuff 😎), and Mrs. Mariam came through with the elite beans and bread combo that held many of us down. I ate other things too, of course, but these two women lowkey carried Week 0 on their backs. Respect 🙌

😵 Week 1: Gig Pressure, Tests, and Sleep Fights

Week 1 came in hot. Classes officially started.

Now, quick confession — I had picked up a gig two weeks before the program started, so I came in with serious backlog. I barely touched the pre-course material (don’t tell Mr. Franky 🫣). The night before the first class, I skimmed through what I could — and boom, first test came... and I failed 😅

I was hearing new concepts and terminologies left and right. From nonce to gas, and calldata vs memory, it all felt foreign. I knew I had to step up — fast.

We were also assigned to read the Bitcoin whitepaper on Monday, and the Ethereum whitepaper on Tuesday. Safe to say... I didn’t read either in full 😬. I was still juggling my gig work, staying up late, and waking up early. It caught up to me — hard.

😴 The Great Sleep Battle

One of those days, I dozed off in class and got told to stand up — embarrassinnnngggg 😭. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone. Shoutout to Debbie and the other guy who were also knocked out that day — at least I had my fellow soldiers in the sleep war 😂

Another day, I was dozing again, and the guy sitting next to me tapped me and said:

"Bro, let’s stand up together."

That moment meant a lot. We stood at the back together, and Mr. Franky even commended us for taking responsibility for our focus. That was some wholesome, bro-to-bro energy. Salute 🤝

📞 The Gig Exit and Full Focus Mode

Midweek, I had to call my contractor (big bro energy 💪). I told him I couldn’t keep juggling the gig and the program — something had to give. He understood completely and told me to hand over documentation for the next dev. That call marked a turning point.

From that point on — I was free.
Also broke 🥲
But free.

📖 The Scholar Arc… and Its Rapid Collapse 😅

With my schedule now clear, I dove into my “scholar arc”. I started reading:

Mastering Ethereum by Gavin Wood
Hands-On Smart Contract Development by Solorio, Kanna & Hoover

I was ready to be That Guy™.

Three days in... I crashed. 😂

I realized that reading everything before building was a setup. I was trying to learn all the theory in one breath — which never works. I needed to know the foundational stuff, sure. But I also needed to learn by building, by breaking things, and figuring out why they broke.

Not everything is need-to-know at the start. Some things you pick up as you go.

No need memorizing ECDSA internals when I can't use it practically. I stopped comparing myself to the next guy reading 20 books a day. We all learn differently. That realization brought me peace.

And that’s how my scholar arc ended.

🍛 Feeding Resumes (Week 1 Still)

Feeding started officially on Friday of Week 1. Two meals daily — morning and evening. And guess what?

My room is directly opposite the food station 😎
So I'm always Top 3 in line — and I’m not number 3 😋🍽️

🔭 Looking Ahead: Growth, Code, and Clarity

I don’t fully know what the next weeks will bring, but I’m looking forward to:

Growing into a confident Web3 dev
Learning from books, mentors, peers, and even my mistakes
Adapting to new stacks and mental models
Building real-world solutions, even if the first ones flop
Discovering more about myself — my strengths, weaknesses, and learning style

This is a 16-week journey (well... 17 with week 0 😅), and I want to make every single week count.

✊ Final Words

Web3Bridge isn’t just about blockchain and code. It’s about people, purpose, and process. It’s about getting knocked down and standing up again — sometimes at the back of the class 😂

It’s about unlearning, relearning, and becoming.

If you’re thinking of joining a program like this — just know:
It won’t be easy. But it will be worth it.

On God. Let’s build. 🔥

🚀 My First Weeks in Web3Bridge