As we have just rounded up 2022, I thought it would be a nice exercise to reflect on how the year has gone from the perspective of a software developer. In 2022 I had lots of goals to meet including learning new skills and working on several development projects. These reflections for 2022 are useful for looking back and analyzing how the year went, the lessons, and what can be improved in the following year.

Introduction

For those who don't know me, my name is Ihuoma Goodluck Ogbonna. I am a software engineer(backend developer to be precise). 2022 has been a great experience for me a great experience as a web developer. So, stay tuned as I share my journey, failures, lessons, and accomplishments.

January 2022

The goal was to become a full-stack developer. But in as much as I'm focusing solely on full-stack development, I figured out the one I enjoyed was backend development and added more effort to it. So in January 2022, I was already 3months into my internship as an HTML&CSS at CodeLab. At the time I was given the internship offer, I had two expectations which were: improving my frontend skill and my leadership/communication skill. But then, I was been haunted by impostor syndrome. The fear that I couldn't do it irrespective of my technical skill, the fear that it was my first time, the fear that I wasn't able to possess some leadership skills, and more. Then again, I had to speak with my mentor and sometimes, say my anthem before my classes...

Every time you have to speak, you are auditioning for leadership - James Humes

So before I teach, I practice what I want to teach which exposes me to new technologies that got me 6x better on my frontend skill and I also improved my communication/leadership skill. I also started making use of social presence by documenting my journey on Facebook.

February 2022

I continued my internship as an HTML/CSS instructor. At this time, I used the opportunity to level up my frontend skill by learning how the consumption of API works on ReactJs. Because I already had enough background knowledge on it. But then, I wouldn't say learning it was easy. There were times I would face an error while learning and no one would be there to help. I would have no choice but to dump it and start all over the next day. Which affected me because it lead to procrastination. In the end, I was able to build a YouTube clone from scratch with what I learned about data consumption in React here.

March 2022

I went further in leveling up my frontend skill by learning NextJs. Exploring on NextJs was quite fun because you can run both Frontend and Backend on the same port. It also gives you leverage as a full-stack developer. Firstly, I learned about Tailwind CSS and how to implement it on NextJs. I wasn't familiar with Tailwind CSS and NextJs. But I kept on trusting the process. Secondly, I learned how to implement NodeJs in NextJs. To a point, while learning, I faced a bug while trying to connect my server to MongoDb that I started procrastinating on when to fix the bug until I finally debugged the error. Immediately, I picked up a project which was to build a simple CRUD that stores an image on the backend and displays them on the Front-End using NextJs, NodeJs and Tailwind CSS. Here's the image of the project below👇

April 2022

The journey started getting clearer. Then I figured out my strength was backend development. So, I focused 75% of my time on NodeJs to improve my Backend skill. I also applied for my first External Backend Hackathon hosted by Adanian Lab. I was so nervous and never hoped to win because it was my first one on the hackathon, there were also lots 0of rules like No-code lifting, no talking and more. That alone got me more nervous. At the end of the hackathon, I came out as the second runner-up.

May 2022

I started going out to Tech events. I went to the Microsoft Azure conference. After the conference was rounded up, I started getting interested in cloud computing. In the same month, I started my SideHuslte cohort 5.0 internship where I got connected with great minds in building projects. I also started my DevOps class at CodeLab. It got to some point when my lessons started getting choked up and I had to separate the way I take my courses. I took my SideHustle courses three times a week while my DevOps classes were every weekend. And, that was how I got rid of time mismanagement.

June 2022

I had just finished my learning phase, about entering the Bootcamp program where you get to do real-life projects at SideHustle Cohort 5.0. I earned a scholar badge as one of the best students in the Backend development track(Nodejs) and cause of that, I was given a discount to apply for the Bootcamp program. After we rounded up with the program, I and my team members were able to build real-life projects, learn from the best instructors, I was able to gain in-demand skills for free Earned two certificates and my hands got more flexible on backend development.

July 2022

This time around, I focused on full-stack development. For the Front-End, I learned about state management(Redux). it got confusing but, later got interesting at the end. For the Back-End, I went deeper into Nodejs dependencies which were quite fun. I also got featured on Technext. Where I shared my journey and experiences as a teenage software engineer. here

August 2022

I literally did not code this month because my laptop got spoilt. So, I focused solely on some of my Examinations. I've always loved writing. So, I started posting content on Hashnode, where I write about my journey and career as a web developer to inspire people in becoming the best version they aspire for.

September 2022

After I rounded up with my Examination, I got my first contract job as a Full-Stack developer. I got to meet different amazing software engineers, I got to work on a real-life product that is currently up. Along the line, it got so depressing because of the stack, the task, the working culture, my mental health and the fact that I don't even have time to focus on my personal goal. I had just waited patiently to gain experience till my contract will end.

October 2022

After my contract ended in the middle of October, One thing I was happy about is the 1-year experience I gained in the space of a month plus. And then, the vision started getting clearer and I decided to focus on Backend development. From the experience I got at my first contract job, I use that in my personal development and I got 6x better than before. So, I went ahead to apply for my first international hackathon.

November 2022

Finished my hackathon project and the winners are still yet to be announced. I went to events. I focused more on personal development, giving back to different communities that have helped and impacted my tech journey and those that demand my value by volunteering, interning, and collaborating with the development team, and product and project managers to ideate, build and develop software solutions.

December 2022

It continued with giving back to communities and volunteering on projects and events. I also continued taking courses that will help improve my knowledge in backend development. I also got a lot of giveaways as a Techie. Indeed December was my best month so far. got to even hear testimonies from people I have inspired.

Conclusion

As we enter 2023, I am looking forward to contributing to open source backend development, Starting my technical writing journey and taking it seriously, attending events to network/connect with great minds, updating my learnings, grooming my skillset, keeping the burning desire of becoming a backend developer, collaborate with development teams in building a world-class project, make use of my social presence positively and focus solely on my long-term goals of giving back to my community.