Well, after way to many years, I’m finally look at my last year of college. Barring any major hiccups, I’ll finally have my bachelor’s by next December. It has been a long and slow road, but glad I’m finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. As for next steps, it’s time for me to start figuring out what I really want to do.

To be honest, the degree I picked, Web Development and Administration, was originally because that was the degree I was closest to getting without having to retake any classes. What I didn’t expect, was that I would like the field quite as much as I did. I also figured out that I’m stretching myself way to thin. There is so much I want to play with and so much I want to do, I have so many ideas, I have no idea where to start. I seemed to have forgotten a lesson I learned when I was first working towards my degree. Learning to program at its core isn’t about master one or two languages. There’s nothing wrong if you do though. Ultimately, at least for me, it is about understanding what programming is at its core. The ability to break down complex tasks into simple to follow instruction sets, and then translate them in such a way a computer can understand them. Sure, I’m over simplifying it a bit, but it helps remind me that there is no point in overloading myself.

Ultimately, every program language accomplishes the same thing. Tells a computer what you want it to do. The big difference is the syntax between each language. It all comes down statements, loops, functions/methods, variables, arrays, etc.. Just depending on the language, dictates how you write it out or go about it. In Python, you just name your variables and use them. No need to specify what they are. Java, C++, C# you declare what your variable are when you create them (yes, yes, C# has var which can be anything, but you still have to include it when defining it). Also, some languages work better then others for certain tasks. You can write a video game in Python or C#; but it isn’t uncommon for major studios to use C++. Why, C++ gives you some added flexibility with optimizing your code to maximize the games performance. In turn, C++ can be more difficult to grasp. Python on the other hand was made to be easier to understand then C++ and more approachable. Does that mean if you learn one, you can’t learn the other? If you understand programming is all the same at it’s core, no. Just means you have to rethink how to accomplish certain tasks. Like declaring your variable types (something that constantly throws me off with Python).

So while I’m trying to learn them all, I’m not dedicating the time to really learn any of them. So, going forward, I’m going to focus on C# as my go to language. I can use it for .NET web applications and desktop applications, like video game. Then, if I ever need to switch gears, just need to remember that I know how to program. I just need to understand the new syntax and remember to be flexible in my way of thinking.