# It's okay to suffer a little bit

Sometimes it's good to suffer for a bit, whether it be a problem you don't know how to solve, a bug you can't figure out, or even trying to find a job. Problem-solving is one of those core life skills we should be developing endlessly. If you always look for others when you get stuck, you become dependent on them. Struggling is when we start thinking outside the box, trying anything we can to make it work. You know you're in the trenches when you need to stop what you're doing, clear your mind, and sink deep into thought about how to approach next steps. Commonly for me this is when I'm recompiling some code and thinking "if this isn't the fix then I don't know what is..." When I say that to myself then I know I'm really in deep.

Often I end up figuring it out. Other times that's when I had to learn to ask others for help.

An example of this in my life is when I was a university student looking for my first internship. It was Spring 2014 and my skills as a software developer were mostly PHP, SQL, JavaScript and some HTML/CSS. I developed these skills working in mostly open-source developing forum software plugins, and even did a few freelancing gigs on the side. So given my experience, I was extremely confident that I would be hired by a prestigious company in the first round.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." - Mike Tyson

Instead I didn't get any job in my field, spending the summer working in customer service. I was devastated.

Despite feeling at my lowest it was a big boost for my growth. Because of this situation, I reassessed my skills and decided to learn some of the "hot" new tech at the time which was server-side JavaScript (NodeJS). I spent all summer developing my skills and working on side-projects to make myself more employable. During the next co-op cycle––Spring 2015––I interviewed with a few companies and chose to begin my career as a full-stack developer intern at SugarCRM in the Bay Area. Looking back, I'm glad I didn't get a job during that first year.

It's okay to suffer a little bit.