Awesome! I think I learned it way quicker somehow, and I'm surprised while looking back.

I already had enough JS, HTML, and CSS knowledge and wanted to create awesome apps, but wasn't easy with just those. So, I started learning React. The first few times, I got to initializing the project, and then got carried away.

I foolishly put up a React Gig on a freelance website for $5 just for fun, and got an order within a few days. As surprised as I was, I couldn't just reject the order, so I got to creating it. The client needed a full adoption management system with authentication, UI design, database, API, extra features like emailing, and best coding practices like adding URI parameters on the frontend.

I didn't know a word about any of the above, but the deadline was nearing. So, I got to learning react. I logged onto YouTube and saw a ~15 hours course on freecodecamp. It was literally the best course I could find till now, and I'm glad I took it.

Then, I had the basics straight, but still didn't know how to create a full stack app. So I searched for a full stack MERN app, because the name sounded good, and got to this video of someone implementing a full ecommerce app. I thought of following along and typing out every single line of code.

By the end of the 8-9 hours, I already knew how to setup databases, APIs, react apps, handle authentication, and so much more. This was the greatest tut I could have watched.

Then I got into creating the actual app for the gig. I put extra effort into making it stand out, and it turned out great

And then I continued getting gigs and I stepped up my React game, and I'm proud of my journey.

Our journey is pretty similar, and it's great to hear others'. Thanks for the awesome article 😃