There were days I wanted to just stay overnight.. and yes a lot of other people did.
WHAT A MONTH! As someone who genuinely enjoys tech and learning, this experience felt like a gift.
From the first day of arriving to the final exam after-party with food, drinks, and good company, the entire experience was absolutely worth it. And the best part? It didn’t cost anything to participate. I’ll share my experience while respectfully keeping some of 42’s inner workings a bit of a mystery.
As mentioned before: no teachers, no books, no direct help… well, kind of.
These are students who have already passed the Piscine and are currently enrolled at 42. When you're stuck or overwhelmed, they give you guidance, hints, or sometimes just someone to talk things through with.
I knew what Discord was before this, but never really used it seriously. During the Piscine, it became essential. Whether it was login issues, black screens, or dashboard errors, someone was always online to help.
There’s even a bot that allows you to reboot your VM directly from Discord. Convenient? Absolutely. Slightly dangerous? Also yes. One wrong input and you might accidentally reset someone else’s machine.
Some students also create side servers within the guidelines. I was impressed by how resourceful and motivated many of them were. Their professionalism at such a young age stood out to me.
I truly wish there had been more time. The volume of material was intense, and the only real resources were your peers and the internet.
If I could change one thing, it would be creating a strict schedule — knowing exactly when to complete what. I underestimated how much discipline was required.
I tried to perfect everything I worked on, yet I still struggled to retain syntax. I now have a mental model of how things connect, but building something from scratch without the internet is still difficult for me.
Just like traditional school exams, no notes and no help were allowed. It clearly shows what you truly understand. I’ve never been a strong test taker, and this environment reminded me of that every Friday.
A RUSH is a three-day group project where your team must build something together. Different coding styles and personalities can clash, but that’s part of the learning process.
I often felt behind, but even observing taught me valuable lessons. RUSH projects are intense and require serious teamwork.
There is also something called BSQ, similar to a RUSH, except you choose your team.
The beginning felt manageable, but once deeper logic concepts appeared — arrays, indexes, memory — it became challenging. I started forming mental images of how things work, though true mastery will take time.
I tried recreating exercises at home, which helped, but real understanding requires repetition beyond copying notes. Pointers were especially difficult for me.
Shell felt more comfortable at first. Historically, C was created to build Unix, and Unix runs the shell. Everything connects in a full circle.
When starting at 42, the first language we are introduced to is C. At first, I did not understand why. It felt old, strict, and unforgiving. There were no shortcuts, no safety nets, and every small mistake mattered.
But that is exactly the point. C forces you to understand what is actually happening in memory. You learn how data is stored, how pointers work, how processes run, and how the computer truly executes instructions.
C does not let you hide behind abstractions. You must think about structure, logic, and memory management. It builds discipline. It builds problem-solving. It builds resilience.
I struggled. I tried to perfect everything. I wasted time. I thought I didn’t need to finish it all. But looking back, C gave me the starting foundation to understand an 'image' of programming itself(respectfully).
That is why C. Not because it is easy. Not because it is modern. But because it forces you to truly learn.
I saved all the materials from the Piscine and plan to revisit them. C is far deeper than markup languages. Mastering syntax will take time, but I’m committed to slowing down and learning one concept at a time.
For more info on the school, visit
https://www.42network.org/