Reflection

In 1984 I was a junior at Brighton High School. I enjoyed math and took AP calculus. As I remember it, the following summer I took my first college class at the University of Utah. I don't remember a lot from that class, but I do remember college being different from anything else I had experienced.

Now many years later I find myself in my first semester at Salt Lake Community college. As I reflect on what's transpired the last few months I have gained a greater appreciation for the opportunity to keep learning. I can summarize my experience by using three coding examples from the class.

Education

Learning never exhausts the mind. Leonardo da Vinci

These five lines of code are the framework of what we read and learn on the internet. Likewise education is the framework that will define much of what we do in life. It will influence employment opportunities. It will influence people we meet. Not all education occurs in a classroom with paper and pencil. It may mean vocational training or additional schooling. Whatever you are passionate about, seek additional education in that area to become the best you can be.

Remember the little things

It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen. - John Wooden.

During the tic-tac-toe project I tried to use images rather than the standard X’s and O’s. After making great progress I refreshed the browser screen to find one image that worked and one image that did not. I spent a significant amount of time trying to figure out why it only partially worked. It wasn't until I looked back at an if statement that I remembered what Jeff had mentioned in many lectures. Arrays began with zero, not one. When I adjusted the javascript to read…

markers[0] = markersXO[0];

markers[1] = markersXO[1];

…the tic-tac-toe project fell into place. So it is with life. It is the little things that can frustrate us or bring us joy.

Work

I fine that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. - Thomas Jefferson

It's definitely not a masterpiece, but I was very happy with the end result. With a lot of div’s, mixed with some CSS, and a lot of work, the Boxes project turned out OK.

boxes
Listen?