Becoming Less Reliant on Tutorials Brings Benefits

As an honorary first blog post, I thought I'd talk about the interesting aspect of tutorials I've gone through found mainly on YouTube. For the majority of my developing journey, I relied heavily on project tutorials and just copying what the developer on screen was doing. Doing this, I knew I was really in it to feel some sort of accomplishment in coding and finishing a project. However, after the video ended and I look over the project I did, there was a sense of disconnect because when I tried to recreate a similar project on my own, I had a difficult time on how to start this project, where I was going with it, and how to actually implement the things that I've learned just moments before.

I, as I'm sure with plenty of other people, have not learned my lesson however and drowned into what is called 'tutorial hell'. This is essentially where you just follow tutorial after tutorial without taking the initiative to really implement what you've seen or just learned hoping that things will just begin to 'click' and you just remember what to do. Unfortunately, that is not how that works and after spending a few years in this state, I'm starting to realize that.

Now this doesn't mean I'm giving up on tutorials completely! I still love to watch them because they offer the perspective of how the developer works through the challenges that arise, how they decide to complete the project, and quick refreshers. However, I've come to realize that the less I rely on tutorials and use the interweb to research the problem I'm facing, it's easier to see the tips and tricks to help solve that problem that I'm struggling with. I've noticed that by doing this, the fundamentals start to have a lasting impression to my learning. I'm able to reiterate the things that I research on my own in the projects I build. Even if I'm second guessing myself and I just look it up for a quick check, I've become more confident in my coding skills and there is less of that disconnect.

All of this to say that I probably will never fully get rid of tutorials, but making a point to rely on my researching skills more has allowed me to become more confident in my coding skills. Thus essentially putting me on the right path to becoming a better developer.