Lessons from building an app as a 6th grader

In 2015, as a 6th grader, I developed and published my first iOS app. My church had a yearly summer volleyball tournament, so I offered to make an app that displayed scores and sent reminders about match times. Over the course of months, I was able to finish the application and publish it on the App Store right on time for the event.

Ever since starting the blog, I’ve planned to write about this topic. However, finding what to say has been a struggle. A blog on the technical aspects of the app would not be interesting. There are a million other blogs that break down the process of making an app, and they probably do it far better than I could. Instead, I’m choosing to share the three lessons that I learned from the project, which I still apply daily today.

Staying Curious

Curiosity is how the project began. I was interested in how mobile applications were made, and the best way to learn for me was doing it myself. I followed days worth of tutorials and guides. Curiosity can drive us to learn and innovate, to be better versions of ourselves. It is essential in our lives. If curiosity wasn’t my engine, I don’t think I would have completed the project. This brings me to my next point: persisting.

Persisting

There were many late nights and moments of frustration where I considered abandoning the project. Would it work? Would people even use it? I’m glad I persisted because the end result was worth it. The following quote is sometimes attributed to Winston Churchill, other times to Abraham Lincoln, but no matter who originally said it, I think it carries an important lesson:

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

Being able to persist is an important skill, however, one needs to have a plan on how to persist. Constantly ramming headfirst into an issue won’t get you anywhere. Instead, one needs to approach the challenges with a game plan. This is where taking small steps came in for me.

Taking small steps

When I started the project, I had no idea how to make an application. There was no guide that would teach me how to make an app that displayed scores for a sand volleyball tournament. So, I broke the process down into parts that did have tutorials, and the entire project became a jigsaw puzzle. When I felt that I got stuck, I’d break down the project even further, and I just took one part at a time. Eventually, all the parts came together nicely and I was able to publish it to the app store!

Ultimately, what I remember most about making the app is not the challenges I encountered, the late nights without sleep, or the moments of helpless frustration. What has stayed with me is the lessons I’ve learned. I can still look back and remember the joy I experienced when I saw my application on the app store, available to anyone in the world. Part of that feeling was being proud of what I was able to accomplish, but the real joy came from seeing how the Lord was orchestrating my gift into fruitfulness.

In any process, there exists roadblocks and frustration on the path to success, but I encourage you to persist in the goals you set for yourself. When you feel stuck, break down the obstacle, take small steps, and remain ever curious and willing to learn. If you can view complications as opportunities, I think you’ll find life far more enjoyable. The challenges that you encounter make accomplishing the goal that much sweeter.