 What is going on everyone and welcome back to my channel. For those who are new here I am so glad you took the time out to check out my channel. For those of you all who have been here before thank you so much for continuing to support me. I wanted to create this really chill video where I talk about how and why I almost quit computer science. My goal isn't to frustrate you or make you intimidated but to educate you and inspire you to chase that dream no matter how difficult it is. This video is sponsored by Skinnet. Skinnet is an online retailer that allows you to create your own. Some skins, cases, bands and so much more. Recently I was supporting the Apple Watch 42 millimeter with the camo band that they sent me and if you know me at all you know that I love camo. This band is actually super comfortable. It is made out of Fox leather and I love how it gives my Apple Watch that bold look and feel. Skinnet also sent me their two layer pro case that I was actually able to customize. I absolutely love my new case. It's very durable so it keeps my iPhone X safe and protected from scratches and damage. The two layers just make me feel comfortable like I have that maximum protection. I also do photography on the side so I decided to customize my case with the picture I took in New York City last summer. I've never had a case that I customized before. It's actually really special to have my iPhone wrapped in a case designed and photographed by me. If you're interested at all in any of the products that Skinnet has to offer I have a link down below with the promo code. Okay I'm out of breath because I went downstairs. Legious guy here so. When I started school the fall of 2014 I knew that I wanted to pursue a degree in computer science but of course I had doubts and a fair share of imposter syndrome throughout my career. You know what? I'm just gonna address the elephant in the room. This can be better. I think the white lights in the background make you feel relaxing and chill but they don't look symmetrical but it is what it is at this point. A lot of people have asked me if I had programming experience before college and if they need any programming experience before college in order to in order to be successful as a computer science major. I had very little experience. To be honest the only real experience I had was when I went to Cornell University and built a smart home with three other amazing individuals. Other than that the only other experience I had was Vex Robotics and that wasn't much of anything especially when you compare to my actual college curriculum. So my answer is no you don't need any experience however my word of advice is to take a very intro level programming course before you take any core computer science courses and yes that includes any intro computer science courses that are part of your core curriculum. The first computer science class I took in college was Intro to Java and it was pretty fun. It was the only course besides senior design where I actually built a GUI or a UI but I did struggle and that was really just the beginning of the struggle. I remember being so frustrated in lab because I just couldn't figure out this code that I needed in order to finish it. If any one of you have been there before comment down below been there bro. I've always been willing to take on a challenge but computer science was just something new. It's really like learning a whole new language and your code could break because of a misplaced curly brace or semi-coating. Coding was hard enough but also understanding how the IDE my professor uses and wanted us to use was also difficult so it added another layer of complexity. I know some of those things sound funny now but it was a whole new world for me. I really felt like I was on Mars some days. Fast forward to spring semester of 2015 I decided to take Intro to Computer Science one and that was the first core class I took within my curriculum. I really felt confident. I got a B in Java. I faced my fears. I figured I was ready for the next level like you know in a game where you got to get past the next boss that's what I felt like. I really started off strong. I got an A in my PB and J algorithm assignment and I got a good grade on my first programming assignment for C++ that Intro to Computer Science course which was a cash register app. I recommend anyone who wants to learn how to program to do a cash register app just throw that out there. You could say I felt comfortable in the beginning but how quickly did that change? As we began talking about functions, loops and files I quickly fell behind and I was overwhelmed by the complexity of what I was learning. To make a long story short I withdrew from the class on the last day that you could withdraw so I didn't fail because if I would have failed then I would have been short of the credit hours I needed to keep my scholarship. My confidence was shot. I remember calling up the company that I was going to intern with to tell them that I had to withdraw from my Intro to Computer Science course. In my mind I was convinced that they wanted nothing to do with me and that they weren't going to allow me to intern with them anymore. During the end of the spring semester I made up my mind I was done with computers and computer science. I didn't think it was for me so I decided that I wanted to switch my major to industrial systems and engineering. I figured I like people, I like math, I like engineering, this is gonna work out perfect. So I scheduled ISE classes at the end of the spring semester. Little did I know how different software development was from my major especially when it comes to the actual work that I was doing. Believe it or not I actually had fun coding in a professional setting and that's when I realized how much I loved front end development and how I wanted to be a front end developer. Don't get me wrong I still had my doubts during the summer so I shadowed a consultant and project manager. I quickly realized that I thought that was boring and that I really enjoy creating. During my break shadowing I would literally get on a bike and ride to the R&D building to write code because I really enjoyed building and styling different UI elements and components. I learned that there was hope for me in the computer science world that sometimes you have to take things twice in order to master them. Luckily I never had to retake another computer science course again. I guess I was so scared to continue because I figured if I failed the first course how on earth am I going to pass more complex courses and higher level courses. The thing is if you understand the computer science basics and fundamentals you'll be okay because you just continue to build off those things that you learned in your earlier courses. I actually still use the skills I learned in my intro to computer science course in my everyday job. The moral of the story is don't think of the glass as half empty but think of it as half full. It's okay to fail especially in the beginning because typically things are going to be new to you and it may take time for you to understand and comprehend the material. With that being said I hope you all enjoyed this video as always God bless never forget faith over fear peace.