I've exited the Matrix. You should too.

For the past couple years I've been using so much Typescript and Javascript, it should probably be illegal. That's been the case for about 10 years, ever since I actually began teaching myself programming.

I never really understood the gripe with Javascript, but man-alive, Typescript eats me alive every time. Not because I'm bad at it (although still learning), it's just a colossal pain in the butt. Working with it is literally a nightmare I couldn't wake up from for a while.

This is entirely hyperbolic of course, I think what it does, it does well, and I mean if you want any sort of type-safety I guess it's the better of the alternatives?

I suckered myself into working with Javascript so often without learning something new, I thought I became a smooth brain. Literally, the degradation in cognitive performance and decrease in confidence is actually kind of wild.

I didn't teach myself anything new for a good long while - just sticking to the same language and the same way of doing things. Since I've been laid off, I've been exploring and learning so much more that it's actually been fun again.

Now one could make an argument that the reason I didn't teach myself anything new was because I didn't want me ego to take a hit. I mean, my self-esteem fell so fast it was but a blink of an eye and I was questioning my sanity. That really opens your eyes to your mental predisposition I guess. But that's for another day.

Anyway, this I've been laid off I've picked up Go, HTMX, and SQL (raw, unadulterated SQL). I've learned something interesting during this process. Since moving away from the Javascript ecosystem and practicing DSA, learning different programming patterns etc., I feel like my mental cognition has increased. Weird.

I've been stretching myself mentally and it's been paying off. Things are still hard and I have to watch my thought processes when learning something new because for some God-forsaken reason, I think that I should know everything I don't know even before I see it for the first time. Crazy!

But learning Go has brought the fun back into programming and I'm excited to dive deeper into this great language! Also SQL is neat, and I wish I was using an ORM or something, but I know it's for the best.

Breaking outside of the Javascript ecosystem and taking on something new has also (I believe) made me a better programmer and when I do program in Javascript, I'll be better prepared with different programming patterns because languages like C# or Golang or whatever, force you into programming in a certain pattern, right? So then you become familiar which makes you better in my opinion. With all this practice, now you can go from language to language with an understanding of how to effectively build software using its pattern. Which before was a problem for me. I didn't really understand different programming patterns and didn't really want to learn.

Since go is a more procedural language, I'm starting to understand what that actually means which is fantastic.

Now I might totally be wrong, I'm still getting used to what are Object Oriented programming languages, what are procedural/functional. These are things I will be teaching myself because I want to learn the lingo.

Anyway, you've made it this far and you're wondering: "What did I just read?" And for you, I have no answers. Welcome to my blog where my thoughts become word soup.

In the end learning Go, SQL, HTMX, and DSA etc., has been a lot of fun and moving outside of what I've lived in for so long (Javascript/Typescript) has been a breath of fresh air.

Give it a try! Learn something new especially if you've been in a particular ecosystem for a long while!