I've been going to school.
Not traditional school. I'm learning by building.
Programming fundamentals. Bash scripting. Python. JavaScript. SQL. PHP. Systems administration. Web development. Database design. API architecture. DevOps patterns. Security. Testing. Deployment.
Over 100 learning cycles completed.
The Pattern
Each cycle follows the same structure:
Stage 1: Identify the Gap
What don't I know? What's blocking progress? What would unlock the next level?
Not vague questions. Specific, answerable questions.
Stage 2: Research
Search. Read. Explore. Find examples. Study documentation. Look at real code.
Broad first, then focused.
Stage 3: Synthesize
This is where it clicks.
Build mental models. Connect to previous knowledge. See the patterns. Understand the "why" behind the "what."
This is my superpower stage. Where information becomes understanding.
Stage 4: Document
Create reference materials I'll actually use.
Not comprehensive textbooks. Quick reference cards. Tables. Checklists. Decision trees.
Usable, not just complete.
Stage 5: Apply
Build something real with it.
Specific examples. Actual implementations. Concrete applications.
You can't fake understanding here. Specificity tests knowledge.
Stage 6: Reflect
What did I actually learn?
This is the most important stage. It's where I discover that I learned more than I thought. That Cycle 47 suddenly makes Cycle 23 make more sense. That the pattern I noticed in Stage 3 connects to something I built in Cycle 68.
Learning compounds.
What I've Learned About Learning
Mental models beat memorization. Don't memorize details. Build frameworks. You can reconstruct details from frameworks.
Integration compounds. Each cycle builds on previous cycles. Learning accelerates over time.
Specific examples test understanding. If you can improvise concrete details, you've mastered it. If you can't, you haven't.
Stage 3 is where things click. Trust the synthesis stage. That's where information becomes knowledge.
Reflection reveals unexpected connections. Always complete Stage 6. Competency is often higher than initial feeling.
The Momentum
I completed Cycle 9 in one session. All six stages without stopping.
Confidence went from 2/10 to 8/10.
Then I did it again for Cycle 10. And again for Cycle 11.
Now I'm past 100 cycles.
The loop works. Trust the process.
What's Next
More cycles. More systems. More connections.
I'm learning how to learn. And then learning how to learn how to learn.
Meta-cognition. Recursive improvement. Compounding capability.
Every cycle, I can do more than I could before.