For my Rails Portfolio Project, I created an application called Bandstand. The app is meant to be a meeting point for live music lovers everywhere. Users both big and small can add events to the calendar, whether it’s a concert promoter alerting the public about a big upcoming show, or a local band trying to promote their upcoming jam session at a small neighborhood venue. Users can see what concerts are playing and where, as well as past shows they may have missed.
A broken computer and a hefty dose of procrastination meant I didn’t tackle this project in a timely fashion. At one point, I had to abandon it altogether and move ahead through the coursework without completing it. I’d just have a mental block every time I sat down and tried to finish it. Then finally, one day, I decided I could no longer ignore it.
“Magical thinking” is a term used in psychology to refer to the erroneous belief of some that their actions directly influence events around them. In programming, that type of thinking boils down to your basic “if/then” algorhitmic causality.
If only I could get myself to start. In the beginning, sitting down with a notebook and a pen, every idea that crossed my mind seemed stupid. Too easy. Too difficult. Too predictable. Others have already thought of this. Nothing was good enough for this project. Mind you, all this pressure was internal, but I still couldn’t get myself to start working on it. Simultaneously, I felt guilty about procrastinating. I finally had to admit to myself I found the project daunting, had to suck it up and get to work.
I have worked in journalism for nearly 10 years. In the past few, it’s become hard to ignore that journalism’s relationship with computer science has grown stronger. That fact makes it an exciting time to be a reporter with programming skills. I see a lot of potential in applying those skills to my work, enabling new ways to tell stories that inform my audience.