I'm not sure where to start, what a long journey it has been.

The past 10 months have been the most challenging, stressful, and exhausting time of my life. However, it's also been the most rewarding and fulfilling. I joined Flatiron with the goal that I've had since my teenage years, and that is to be a Software Engineer.
I am happy to say that I have submitted my final project, I haven't taken my assessment yet but the last year of my life has proven that I can and will accomplish anything I put my mind to.

Over the course of the last 10 months, I've learned an incredible amount of knowledge and skills in the programming field.
From Ruby, Html & CSS, to JavaScript and React, a crazy amount of information in such a short time, it truly is like learning a foreign language, but I was never good at French.

The first phase in my eyes was the most challenging, no it wasn't the most complex, but it was the first dive into the programming world that proved to be the most difficult.
Starting with procedural Ruby, I quickly understood the meaning of object-oriented programming. From variables & arrays, to booleans & iterations followed by scraping and API's, it all came together in a very logical and to the point manner.

Next came the Sinatra and Rails phases. In Sinatra I was introduced to SQL, Active Record, HTML & CSS, Sessions and MVC. With those utilities put together, I could then make an applications and deploy it to a browser page. It was exciting to see each skill build the framework of an application.
Next came Rails, at this point setting up the database was easily implemented from memory. With associations, forms, nested routes and the useful CRUD actions (create, read, update, & delete). The first three phases came together harmoniously, creating the framework of future languages I would learn and applications I would create in the future.

The last two phases were JavaScript and React. In JavaScript the DOM was introduced. With little client side manipulation in the previous phases, it was a huge leap in learning by adding new skillsets to my repertoire. With JavaScript, I learned everything from functions, to fetch requests and event listeners, adding more functionality and fun features to my learning and projects.
With React, adding in props and components, and the declarative writing that in turn defined actions, reducers, components and containers, it compacted every element of learning up until this point into a nice logical package.

Everything that I have learned so far has been a wild ride, but it's only just begun! I plan to continuously learn each and every day, master new skills, and tackle new projects.
Thank you Flatiron, my cohort members and my amazing teacher Candice Peters, this opportunity has given me a new outlook on life and abilities that I've always sought after.

In reference to my Final Fantasy image and title, I have only reached the Calm Lands, I still have a long journey ahead of me.