I'm just dope in human form.

A lil piece of my mind online.

[tatelagran]

How to Code: My Resources

Alright Saints, I’m back!

Now if you’ve chosen to go on this journey of coding alongside me then here are a few things I’ve come to find out. You can go about learning to how to code in several ways. One way  you can go about doing this is to go to school for it. Of course that’ll cost you, but if you can swing it then why not? Signing up for a coding boot camp is another way to get the ball rolling. Be aware that there are a ton of boot camps out there so be sure to do your research. What’s cool about some of the boot camps though is that they enable you to enroll without paying upfront. You don’t pay until you’ve secured a job. Now if that is something that sounds more your speed I’ll do my best to keep you guys updated with recommended boot camps from people I trust. I refuse to send you guys off so I’ll have more on this later. Finally, the last way one can learn how to code is by teaching yourself.  So in conclusion, know that you have options. While each method is great, I encourage you to pursue whatever method works best for both you and your wallet.

Now as for me, I am currently one of those people that have champagne taste on beer money….at least this is how we phrase it at home. For this reason, the self taught method and I are going to get along just fine. While this may be the harder and extremely self-disciplined route (let us pray now for discipline), there are a lot of platforms that want to respect our wallets and budgets out here so we’re in luck!

And because I’m attempting this close to very free route, I want to encourage you guys to follow along and learn with me. Possessing the ability to code is such a dope skill that reaps nothing but reward so come along for the ride!

I’m including the  list of resources Iʼve begun using to make this happen. Feel free to drop some sites you’ve found useful as well. I plan on making a living list available here soon.

Happy Coding!

KT

THE LIST:

Medium.com aka The Muse Medium

A goldmine of inspiration for any and everything you ever needed to read in an article. I use this site to stay in tune with new trends and happenings pertaining to front end development and architecture (yea I’m still attached). For example, the article Iʼve clung to when searching how to start this journey I found on medium. Feel free to read the article. Itʼs dope!

FreeCodecamp.com aka The Prelims

This website is amazing and absolutely free! I said free! This is a free resource geared towards beginners. It has a host of modules about 300 hours worth a piece dedicated to teaching you the beginnings on how to code. Iʼve been making my way through them and my my do we have a ways to go. Check it out!

TheOdinProject.com aka A Reader’s Paradise

I’m actually starting to favor this site. It teaches you material but forces you to read about different aspects of code. I literally have a list of sites to reference due to them. They’re also 100% free!!!

And last but not least.....

Lynda.com aka The Site You May Want to Really Pay For

This website is tutorial based and offers information on everything from how to code to how to utilize SEO to how to take up photography to finance. While is it subscription based at $30 a month it has paid for itself time and time again.

Again, these are what Iʼm beginning my journey with. Iʼd love to hear more about what sites you all have tried and what boot camps. Please comment below and subscribe to stay updated on my journey!

[tatelagran]

What is a Front End Developer?

In short coding is an umbrella term for A LOT. It’s pretty easy to get overwhelmed at the sheer amount of things you can accomplish with it. This is NOT to discourage you at all; it’s just to encourage you to declare a specialty. It’s like the difference of saying “I’m hungry” versus “I want to eat Mediterranean food”. One statement is the reason you’ll probably settle for some basic food you don’t want to eat over something you’d be happy to spend your money on. Coding is that! Narrowing things down will save you.

Thankfully, I’ve been able to narrow down the path of coding I want to tackle and that is front end development with a slight segway into user interface design.

Well what is front end development though? Right. Let’s talk about it. Maybe we’ll take on user interface or UI design some other time. Now before I list my idea of what front end development is please know that I am still learning and this definition is sure to evolve as I increase my knowledge around this topic. However, here goes nothing!

A front end developer is the person responsible for breathing life into everything you see and engage with on screen. For example, they are the reason you can see everything from the color selections on the website to the type of font you see on screen. Theyʼre responsible for making sure that those sites can display correctly whether they be on your phone, tablet, or computer. They’re also the people tasked with creating responsible design that can be accessible to everyone including those with disabilities. They are the magicians that tell your browser where to store information once you press the submit button after you input your contact or credit card info on the site. They do all of that and so much more.

So basically, they tell your website or app how to look, how to behave and work well within its given parameters, and how to receive and pass out information making it easier for the consumer experience overall. At least... thatʼs what Iʼve come to understand thus far.

Now I donʼt want to make it seem like front end developers are solely responsible for the magic that is creating a fully functioning digital experience because they are not. Front end developers work closely alongside both UX/UI designers and back-end developers to bring you this kind of enjoyable experience. So teamwork is definitely a thing here. They do, however, have what is known as a full stack developer and that person is capable of delivering on all of these fronts single handedly. As for me and mines though front end development works for me for now.  

To conclude, I hope this makes some sort of sense. I do plan on updating you all as I expand my knowledge base. My hope is that Iʼll be able to inspire someone else who wants to become a coding boss from scratch like me. In the meantime, if you want to learn more about UX/UI design or back end development I will include several links in later posts that I feel explain this clearly (shout out to Medium). And by all means for those in the industry jump in the comment section and help enlighten myself and other viewers. Until the next update. Happy Coding Dreamers!

Helpful Links:

[tatelagran]

True Life: This is Beginner Coding

Coding.

That word in itself has a certain connotation that comes along with it. Some of us hear coding and automatically dissociate ourselves with the term. It is reserved for the likes of those we deem as super smart or nerds. Some of us consider code and automatically think of people who work in dark rooms with one singular light on who enjoy little to no company from others. Okay….that one might have been a little dramatic but the point is that we’ve given the gift of coding to a lot of other people besides ourselves. Strangely, we still manage to think this even though the likes of Myspace and Tag had us coding everything early on. You want an exclusive background? Here’s the custom code for it. You want this or that? Here is the custom code for it.

I believe what made the difference for us then versus now was the platform being used and the way it was presented to us. It gave us the ability to showcase our personalities in the background so we did it. It then gave us instant results so we engaged with it often. Finally it was presented in such a way where anyone could do it. So in today’s time this is a feeling I want to recreate for myself because coding is something I’ve wanted to learn for quite some time. I also believe that coding is for anyone who wants to learn it.

I believe one should always be expanding your skill set and I feel this a great way to do so. Still near the realm of design, I’ve come to admire how such a powerful and invisible language can support such an expansive framework. For example, there is code that was written to allow you to do everything from see your mouse move across the screen, to scroll down to see more content, to open up a new window in your browser, and so much more. Result wise, I like how you can talk to someone, get their feedback, and write for them exactly what it is they want to see coded on their website or app. I’ve read this falls into the areas of user design and front end development. I’ll have more on what those are in a later blog post, but my current goal is to share my journey with you guys and just get started.

Now if you’re looking for the one stop shop place to learn what and how to code, I promise NOT to be that. Rest assured. I don’t plan on being the spokesperson of all things code either. I do, however, hope through documenting my journey in developing this new skill that you guys will be inspired to learn right along with me. Even if that’s just to make yourself more familiar with the subject. I can’t wait to see where my newly developed skills take me and I hope you all will be here along for the ride.

Always happy to learn. Always happy to share.

KT

[tatelagran]

My Goals for 2019

Happy New Year Dreamers! I hope that this year brings you nothing but prosperity and the accomplishing your goals.

I shall keep this post short and sweet because I’m excited to drop these goals and crush them! Here they are!

Bring God A LOT closer than before.

Acquire the skills to become a front end developer.

Work out at least 3 times a week.

Take more photographs.

Redefine and lean in to my lane.

Travel to and explore two new places I’ve never been to.

Show up more for my friends.

Collaborate w/three brands this year.

Grow KTLLive’s viewers and content.

Upgrade on my level of self care.

Feel free to let me know what some of your goals are in the comment section.

[tatelagran]

Tough Love Appreciation

Tough Love is a holiday card designed just for Mother's Day. It's for every mother who had a hand in making sure we stayed in line no matter if that were by way of a hand, a shoe, or the closest thing she could throw. For all the ways you loved us we celebrate you tough love and all! - Card dimensions: 5"x 7" - Includes a blank envelope - The inside of the card is completely blank to allow the sender to leave a personalized message

[tatelagran]

When Realizing You're on the Clock

Truth be told I always wished I had more time. More time would have allowed me to call my favorite neighbor one last time before he left this side of the green. Or maybe more time in the day would have kept so much distance from being introduced into the relationships I hold the closest. With more time maybe I would have some better semblance of my life intact. I don’t really know for sure, but what I do know is time is a very non replaceable resource. Even now as I sit here and write this there are about a thousand thoughts running across my mind concerning my time. Thoughts of all the things I have to do mixed with thoughts of wanting to go out then interlaced with thoughts about how I want to be this bomb architect who gets paid to design anything she wants to one day so I should stay in. Yes, I rambled there I know.

However, I’m sure you too have had similar thoughts that bring you to a constant crossroads. Do I sacrifice another day to leisure or do I take one for my own team, eat up my desires to squander the night away, and hustle? And I mean really hustle and not just post up somewhere to give one the feeling of really working at something worthwhile. Next, I would ask you to ask yourself….”According to the things I want for myself, have I done anything worth taking a break for?” Some people might not like that assessment, but I’m not here for that today because we're being honest here. Analyze the proximity of where you are in comparison to where you ultimately want to be and see if you're satisfied with that distance. If you’re like me….you’ve sat right back down to your duties and continued working. Like I said I’ve always wanted more time. If I had more time maybe I could satisfy both of those desires, but here’s the truth…

We don’t have that time. I don't have that time and neither do you.

Don't believe me? Do me a favor then and think back to how old you were and what you were doing ten years ago. If that time doesn't feel like that was yesterday for you then congratulations! You're one of the few people stuck in the twilight zone because basically time flies. This is fact.

That's why every decision you make ought to be the best one because the time involved to deal with the aftermath of that decision is time you won't get back.  And quite honestly I don’t want to wake up on the other end of time realizing I wasted all of mine. I don’t want that for you either. So yes, you are young but youth expires. Yes, there is tomorrow but we aren't promised to see it. So work now. Spend your time doing things that will benefit you in the years to come. Chase those dreams as fast and as far as your legs will take you. Now I am not saying don't enjoy yourself. By all means do that; just work for those dreams of your ten times harder. Learn to value your time and decide for yourself the best places it ought to be spent and on what and whom. Because it will eventually run out.

You didn’t ask for this reality check. Neither did I. Nevertheless….here we are.

KT

[tatelagran]

Start Em Early - Prince Edition

Start Them Early - Positive re-enforcement and representation are areas I heavily believe all young men need to see of themselves early on. I designed this piece with the hope that it will inspire and remind the little warriors being raised today that they are royalty right from the very beginning. 

Specifics: - Handmade Item - Available sizes: 10"x 15" - Available in poster - Available to be personalized with the name of your special little guy - Frame not included

[tatelagran]

What do you know? Still Don’t Know Much

So I went to college or whatever. I did. I swear. I spent five years of my life dedicated to the architectural struggle and for some reason I just knew that once that journey ended I wouldn’t have to struggle as much. That was indeed thee biggest lie. Now being two years out in the field I can say with confidence that there is a whole world of architecture I do not know. Now I knew this going in of course, but to actually be in the thick of it now is totally different. I can remember people saying things to me like “you get a degree to prove that you can learn a skill” and “your degree just lets an employer know you can be taught”.

The amount of applicable knowledge from college into the actual profession, at least for me anyways, was little. My school, “Go Longhorns!”, was heavily design based and I’d say less heavy on the side of really teaching constructability. Mind you, you should pick the school that suits you. I have always been a lover of all things design so I was perfectly content with the scope of my education. The real world is the only thing that burst my bubble. So having to transition my critical thinking from design to real life constructibility was a TASK! Every day I am exposed to new acronyms and concepts. Each day I am blown away, frustrated to some degree, and driven by the amount of information I have yet to know. Recently, I’ve been considering beginning my AREs and that has done even more to expose me to how much I have to yet to learn.

Basically the take away here is that if you are in any way feeling like me know that you are not alone. The other take away here is for you is to not see this as how much you don’t know about the field, but instead see it as how much you get to learn. Can you only imagine how boring something would be if you knew it all and had no other way to expand your knowledge? I’d be willing to bet it would only make things so uneventful for you. Well….until then dreamers just know that I am both determined and amused at how the quickly this field has humbled me daily.

Stay tuned for the next struggle

KT

[tatelagran]

"It's Under Control" T Shirt

Available in S, M, L, & XXL. S&H not included in price.

[tatelagran]

"It's Under Control" T Shirt

Available in S, M, L, & XXL. S&H not included in price.

[tatelagran]

It's Under Control

Sizes available in S, M, & L. 

[tatelagran]

It's Under Control

Sizes available in S, M, & L. 

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KTLLive Logo Design | 2016

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KTLLive Logo Design | 2016

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KTLLive Logo Design | 2015

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KTLLive Flyer Design | 2016

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Part 2 of the Pop Up Session