As a developer, I often forget the challenges I faced when I first started learning new concepts and technologies. It’s easy to expect junior developers to pick up new skills as quickly as I do now, but this expectation overlooks important factors such as their experience and familiarity with fundamental concepts.

Recently, I embarked on learning two new technologies, which reminded me of these early struggles. One was Terraform. Given my background in server management and DevOps, I found it straightforward to grasp. Within a day, I was writing and using Terraform scripts by reading its documentation and following the steps with ease. For someone without server management or DevOps knowledge, however, Terraform can seem like a daunting and complex tool.

The second technology I tackled was game development with Three.js. Despite my familiarity with JavaScript, I found the concepts of camera, lighting, and 3D design challenging due to my lack of prior experience in 3D development. It took me significantly longer to understand and become comfortable with these concepts.

This experience highlighted an important lesson: whether in programming or real life, people’s responses to new challenges vary greatly based on their past experiences. Understanding this can foster patience and empathy when we see others struggling with concepts we find easy. It’s a reminder that everyone’s learning journey is unique, shaped by the diverse experiences they’ve had throughout their lives.