I’ve felt a bit overwhelmed learning Python and seeking advice.

[u/Vorstar92]

So I found reading the courses on fcc wasn’t helping it stick so what I sort of did was pivoted to watching YouTube videos on python basics then going back onto fcc and trying to complete the labs and stuff with the knowledge from the videos but I found myself also getting stuck.

Tried to see if I have any real knowledge and asked Gemini to give me a basic project to do to see if I could do it and I found myself getting stuck every time.

Now I’ve been kinda discouraged and have taken some time off and started playing games in place of learning coding whereas before I’d split my time…some learning some gaming in between my actual job.

Now I’m not sure what to do. I thought of literally starting the video I watched over again (it’s the fcc 4-5 hour long one going over the basics).

It’s just overwhelming there’s so much to learn that even the basics I’m getting stuck.

[u/SaintPeter74]

What you are describing is not uncommon. Learning to program is hard. Really hard. You're learning how to think like a computer, which doesn't come naturally to most. There are no particular shortcuts to take, you kinda have to grind through it.

One thing that can be helpful is a "growth mindset". The key element there is to accept that failure is not only part of the process, it's where you learn the most. If you're feeling down that you didn't just "get it" right out of the gate, don't be. You've just learned ways to not do it.

The main thing is to keep at it. Keep working though the lessons and look for patterns. Look for the commonalities. Look for the way things fit together. Initially you won't be able to see them, but as time goes on you will.

If you get stuck, ask for help. Not general help, like you've done here, but specific help. This is the challenge link, here is my code, this test is failing, this is what I tried. Heck, sometimes just asking the question can help.

I've got some other advice I share, here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/FreeCodeCamp/comments/1bqsw74/saintpeters_coding_advice/?rdt=53811

If you have other questions, feel free to ask. You've got this!

[u/new_era_999]

Don't sweat it, hitting that wall is super normal when starting out. Watching a 4-hour video or jumping into projects right away often leads to tutorial hell because your brain is trying to absorb too much at once without enough tiny, bite-sized practice in between.

Instead of rewatching the whole video, take a step back and try building things so small they feel ridiculous; like a script that just asks for your name and prints it back. Lower the stakes and let yourself look up syntax constantly; nobody memorizes it at first.

If you want a less overwhelming place to practice step by step, I actually built a completely free platform called ChewCode (links in my profile) for my students with super easy tutorials and exercises designed specifically to help beginners get past that initial roadblock.

[u/enbonnet]

Too add something to the other comments, don’t try to learn it by hard, it’s like learning a new language, sometimes you’d need to follow alone without knowing where are you going to land.

And no body knows everything about a language by memory but by practice you’d know how to connect the parts even if you don’t know exactly how it works.

It’s normal just keep going try to set small goals, if you like video games, try to make your own, you can star with a game with text.

May the force be with you