system.out.println("CS 142");

I did it! This semester I'm taking what is for me, the scariest class I've taken yet, but it has the highest potential for reward. I'm taking CS 142: Entry to Computer Programming in Java. The first day of the class, I think I knew what the words "mouse," "keyboard," and "monitor" meant and that was it. So I definitely feel like the underdog in this class every day. The good thing is, the need to prove myself and the feelings of inadequacy are pushing me to work hard and put a lot of time into it. We've just finished the fourth lab out of 11 labs and I'm still alive...I actually have 115points out of 100 points(I can brag on my own blog right?). I keep pushing myself to get every extra point possible because I'm terrified that I'm going to hit a point were I get so lost and fail. So far I've made programs that convert base ten numbers to binary, mutate letters and count the number of characters in a string of words, convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, simulate playing a checkers game, and finally, guess a number that someone's thinking(0-31) of in 5 questions. I just finished the guessing game tonight and made a GUI(pretty, ok a not so pretty, picture) for it! It wouldn't work as of last night after spending all day on it and then I spent all day on it today, including over 2 hours on the phone with my dad bouncing ideas of how to fix my minor but yet major problem(it came down to a problem with global/local variable confusion). We finally figured it out and fixed that, but then realized, 40 minutes before it was due, that one of my algorithms was generating the wrong set of numbers to guess(freaking out majorly at this point). Thankfully we figured it out and P and I sped over to the CS building to check the lab in for 40/30. Talk about shear joy/relief/pride, yeah it felt good! This class is like an emotional rollercoaster, alternating between despair, having no clue what to do, and wanting to scream every bad word in my vocabulary, to pride and joy to the point that I was screaming and jumping around the apartment. Tonight involved both but happily I'm still riding on the high. Now on to the take home exam due tomorrow. Wish me luck!