My very first project as a developer was both exciting and humbling. It wasn’t a massive application or something overly complex — just a small website for a local business. But to me, it felt like climbing a mountain. I had the chance to take on the responsibility of building something real, not just an assignment for class.
“Yesterday you said tomorrow. Just do it”
— Nike
What I learned quickly was that building for real people was completely different from building for myself. Clients had expectations, deadlines, and requirements that sometimes changed mid-project. I had to learn to communicate clearly, manage my time, and adapt to feedback on the fly.
Another lesson was the importance of testing. My first attempt at deployment was full of bugs I had overlooked. It was a tough pill to swallow, but it taught me to double-check my work, write cleaner code, and focus on quality, not just speed.
The project wasn’t perfect, but it gave me something more valuable than just experience: confidence. I realised that no matter how small the start, each project contributes to growth. Every line of code was a step forward, and every mistake was a chance to learn. That first project taught me that success in development comes not from avoiding mistakes but from embracing them and improving with each iteration.
