A clean slate
April 24, 2025
As a graphic design student in 2013–14, I knew that I wanted to become a web developer. Specifically, I wanted to become what used to be called a “web integrator”. These folks were responsible for taking a visual design and converting it into code using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. We now refer to them as “front-end developers”.
But, even though I understood HTML and CSS quite well at that point, the world of programming and servers still mystified me. It felt like some impregnable fortress.
After my studies, I began to feel somewhat burned out and in need of a break. I worked in retail for several years, but kept contemplating the idea of going back to school and learn “proper web development”. During that time, I enrolled in a web development program at a local college and made it through the initial interview. Unfortunately though, the program ended up getting cancelled that year due to a lack of demand.
As it turned out, a friend of mine who did go through that program was working for the Government of Canada. His department was looking for individuals who were experienced in HTML and CSS to help migrate content from their legacy website over to the government-wide Canada.ca website. I had my chance.
The work was fulfilling and I learned a lot about writing for the web, information architecture, usability, accessibility, and so on. But it didn’t demystify how the web worked under the hood. With that realization, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I became a self-taught developer.
This has been one the best investment of time and energy that I’ve ever made, period. But my quest of self-learning tends to be haphazard, and it can also feel lonely at times.
To compensate for that, I’ve decided to start a public learning journal. Putting into words some of the stuff that I learn can:
- allow me to better consolidate the information
- make surprising discoveries in the process, and
- help other lost souls (let’s be real, it’ll most likely be my future self)
On that note, let’s start journaling!