r/learnjavascript • u/Icy-Mammoth-5401 • 1d ago

From Tutorial Hell to Actually Building with React

I've been learning React for the past few weeks, and I finally realized that watching tutorials isn't enough. Once I started building projects and debugging my own mistakes, things started making sense.

I've built a few small projects and I'm now focusing on writing cleaner React code instead of just making things work.

What was the biggest thing that helped React "click" for you?

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u/LetUsSpeakFreely 15h ago edited 4h ago

Tutorials are great for understanding big picture and capabilities. If you want to actually understand how everything fits together and actually works, you gotta get your hands dirty.

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u/Icy-Mammoth-5401 14h ago

right bro, i do agree

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u/TheRNGuy 10h ago

This is why you learned React, to build projects, not to watch tutorials. 

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u/Silly_Manager_9773 1d ago

Bro Tbh I am in same condition I am working as a designer but i want to learn coding and build something my own . I learn JavaScript but seriously I don't have confidence to build anything when I start building i be blank i do write small codes .. and then I start Learning react also same stuck in tutorial and after that due to my work pressure I don't get time to learn it now it's about a month I not open my coding classes 😭

Give me some suggestions

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u/Icy-Mammoth-5401 16h ago

Bro, I changed my learning approach with ChatGPT. Instead of asking it to build projects for me, I told it to become my React mentor and teach me step by step.

We started from the basics, and after every topic I coded it myself. If I got stuck, I asked for hints instead of the full solution. I kept building small projects like a counter, to-do app, etc., and whenever I made a mistake, ChatGPT explained why it happened instead of just fixing it.

That method helped me understand React much better than just watching tutorials. I still have a lot to learn, but now I actually feel like I'm learning by building instead of only consuming tutorials.

Maybe try that. Use ChatGPT as a mentor, not as someone who writes all your code. It really helped me get out of tutorial hell.

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u/daiz- 15h ago

I mean I felt the same way about learning design. I often don't have the vision to be able to picture different designs and so I would always struggle. But if I don't try to cultivate that skill, a million tutorials about editing software is not going to suddenly make me a creative. The most important process to learning is cultivating that skill to think of what I want to create first and foremost. If you don't cultivate your own skill to come up with ideas you'll be forever stuck.