Hey All! It’s been crickets on here for a bit, but there really hasn’t been a lot of inspiration recently. July has been nice and we were able to go on a bit of a vacation with family which was enjoyable. My work computer has decided to reboot itself and install updates, so here we are.

I’ve been stuck on a problem for a few days now. It’s a frontend problem (React/Redux) which I’m still quite unfamiliar with. All my normal guys I’d go to for asking questions to are on vacation this week. I’ve been poking around and trying to figure it out for the past day or two. I know what I need to do, but am still really unsure as to how I need to go about what I need to do, if that makes sense. Anyhoo, it has gotten me thinking about how I really dislike being stuck on a problem, but also reflecting on what is good about being stuck on something.

Being stuck on a problem forces you to learn more about the problem. I don’t know everything, but I wish I did. Not being able to solve something right away confronts that little tidbit head on, unfortunately. So it leads me on over to the internet to look up documentation and articles. I read and I learn more.

Not having your normal go-to question people around also encourages you to branch out from them and to interact with other people to help you solve your problem. I’ve gotten a chance to chat with a couple of other co-workers with knowledge on the subject matter and it’s been enjoyable. I don’t love branching out because I have my circle-o-friends and that’s just fine for me. But not having them available kind of forces my hand to branch out, and it’s really not bad. (I hope this doesn’t make me sound terrible)

I know I’ll get it solved and will learn more from it. So don’t get discouraged when you aren’t able to solve something right away. It’s good to struggle and think and ask for help. I don’t like admitting to struggling and needing help, but it’s good and allows one to grow and learn more.

Now that we’re on the downward slope of summer, I hope to write a bit more. We’ll see. More next time!

-Rachel