2016 - Graduated with below 2.5 GPA. No job, just my johnson in my hand.
2017 - Live at home NEET, crazy depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Burned an entire year watching anime, Netflix, and movies. Also sleeping 12 to 16 hours a day. Waking up and smoking enough weed to put an elephant asleep because every waking moment was extremely painful.
2018 - the start of therapy and medication. Had to learn how to function as a human again. While also trying to cram leetcode and general cs theory
2019 - Condition improve, but continued to try to learn too many things at once. Didn't help that I was living in an abusive home environment. Managed to land an internship that paid $10 an hour for 3 months.
2020 - Switched to an ad agency for $25/hr. Covid happen and was laid off during the height of the pandemic. Couldn't code at home because of the abusive environment. Rented a co-working space when everyone was staying home. Was practically living there because I could not afford to move out. Stayed for 3 months, because I could not afford a $250 a month open desk. Spent another 3 months working my mall's outdoor food court 12 hours a day.
2021 - Got a better deal from co-working space for $100 a month. Was practically living at the co-working space again. A small win, but there was an increase in random violence at home. Took the remaining amount of money, and left the country. Was able to focus on building a product. Applied, and interviewed for a job in November. Received and signed offer in December.
2022 - I start working.
What I learned
Don't try to learn everything at once. Focus on one thing at a time.
Be brave and leave a toxic home environment. You won't be able to actually digest material if you are in a constant state of fight or flight.
Watch out for coding anxiety. Don't code for the sake of coding. Think about what you want to achieve. Use bloom's taxonomy to learn deeply.
Take your time, and pace yourself accordingly.
Believe in the process and believe in yourself.
Took god damn 6 years because I was constantly in a state of anxiety and flight mode. Took me 6 months to readjust to a healthy baseline. FML but I made it and so can you. Don't give up. To the bitter end.
Edit1. I was a non-cs major that majored in accounting. In my 3rd year, I have a 3.0 to 3.2 GPA. Always loved tech but coming from an extremely poor family I was never introduced to or had guidance to coding until college. I do recall learning how to make a website with Dreamweaver as a freshie. But I loved tech since I was a kid.
I will answer as many questions as I can. Don't ask in DMs. I believe coding is just the modern-day carpenter and anyone can do it.
JA:
Good for you. Everyone has a different path and a different story. Glad you are and you feel you are on a good path! Good luck!