Dealing with Power Outages and Web Dev Struggles

Power outage has always been my biggest challenge as a web development student. Often, I can't complete my assignments because of power outages, which makes me appear unserious. While others discuss their challenges and progress in the group chat, and classroom, I remain silent, unable to contribute since I haven't completed or began my assignments.

On Monday, our tutor gave us another assignment with a deadline on Wednesday. However, most people, including myself, couldn’t finish it because of a common reason, so he extended the deadline to our next physical class which will be on Monday.
 

The assignment was to clone the Chowdeck order page and make it responsive on all screen sizes, using just HTML, CSS, and Bootstrap.
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 I started the assignment on Wednesday but couldn’t do much because of a power outage. Yesterday, being Thursday, was a lockdown day, so I couldn’t go out to charge my device. Our generator is also faulty and needs servicing. I felt very bad because I hadn't completed a single assignment yet, and it seemed like I was using the power issue as an excuse. I wasn't the only person facing this challenge, but it seemed like i was the only person not willing to make a move.

So today, I decided not to stay home hoping for a miracle. I went to my brother's office to use the power there to charge my devices and work on my assignment. Even if I didn’t complete it today, I wanted to at least make progress and be able to interact and learn with my friends in the group chat.

Luckily, I met a friend and fellow student, @zeal72, at my brother's office. I had no idea he was coming. When I asked him, he said he called my brother to tell him he'd be coming to use the electricity to work on the same assignment. I was happy to see him. I set up the space we'd be using, cleared it of any distractions, and we began immediately as he needed to be home by 2 pm and I by 3 pm.

I had some challenges styling my header area, and making it responsive on various screen sizes. Luckily, @zeal72 had already figured it out and done his, so he assisted me, and gave me tips that worked.

I had other challenges in the same header area and the main area. Making it responsive on small (phone) screens proved daunting. He couldn't figure it out, so I took a screenshot and asked for help in our group chat. My friend and namesake, Blessing, offered a solution to the first screenshot I shared. It wasn’t just a solution; it was a lesson as well because I learned why the mistake occurred and was able to correct it. For the other screenshots I sent, our tutor pointed out other errors, gave some tips, and asked me to fix them.

I was glad I spoke up and took the decision to go out of my comfort zone to do the assignment. If I hadn’t gone to the office, I wouldn’t have done the assignment. If I hadn’t done the assignment, I wouldn’t have encountered any challenges prompting me to speak up, and I wouldn’t have received the help and corrections I got today.

As I headed home, I couldn't stop thinking about how I will improve if I don't attempt my assignments, receive corrections, and interact with others. I learned a valuable lesson, and I understand why our soft skills instructor said on Monday, "You can't survive in the tech world as an introvert." You need to get out of your comfort zone, interact, communicate, and collaborate with others. Today made that lesson clearer. Even though I haven't completed the assignment, at least I attempted it, faced challenges, and for once in my life, I didn't give up. I didn’t let the thought that I couldn't do it get the best of me. Instead, I spoke up, received help, faced my problem, conquered it and was glad I did.

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Cover image edited by me resources used