What My Code Taught Me by Tooba

What My Code Taught Me by Tooba - August 2026 Scholarship Essay

I used to think that if I worked hard enough on something, the result should automatically be good. Programming was one of the first things that taught me otherwise.
I remember submitting one of my early programming assignments feeling surprisingly confident. I had spent hours working on it, fixed what I thought were all the mistakes, and finally reached the point where I could look at my code and think, “Okay, this actually works.” That feeling lasted until I got my feedback.

There were several things I needed to improve. My code technically worked, but my logic was messy, some of my decisions were inefficient, and there were much better ways to approach the problem. In other words, my program was functioning, but it was not exactly winning any beauty contests.
My first reaction was honestly a little embarrassing. I felt disappointed because I had worked so hard on it. Instead of immediately thinking about what I could learn, I focused on the fact that I had made mistakes. At the time, I saw criticism as evidence that I was not as good at programming as I thought I was.

After the initial disappointment wore off, I decided to actually go through the feedback instead of mentally filing it under “things I don't want to hear.” I looked at each comment and tried to understand why my approach could be improved. I rewrote parts of the program, experimented with different solutions, and compared my original code with the revised version.
That was when something clicked. The feedback had not made my work worse. It had shown me how to make it better.
Since then, I have started treating feedback differently. When someone points out a mistake in my work, I try not to immediately think, “Great, another thing I did wrong.” Instead, I ask myself, “Why did I make this mistake, and what can I do differently next time?” It sounds like a small change, but it has completely changed the way I learn.
I have also learned that feedback is not always comfortable, and that is okay. Sometimes the most useful feedback is the kind that makes you pause and think, “I really should have noticed that.” It can be frustrating, but it can also save you from repeating the same mistake ten more times.
Most importantly, I learned to separate my work from my sense of self. Making a mistake does not mean I am bad at something. It means I have found something I do not know yet. There is a big difference between the two.
Now, when I receive feedback, I try to see it as part of the learning process rather than a final judgment. I still get disappointed sometimes—I'm human, after all—but I recover much faster.

That programming assignment taught me more than how to write better code. It taught me that growth requires being willing to admit, “I could have done this better,” and then actually doing something about it.
And, perhaps most importantly, it taught me that sometimes the computer isn't the problem. Sometimes, very unfortunately, it is me.