I Stepped on Another Stone!

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I finally did it! I completed the Cisco Networking Basics course and earned my badge. But getting here wasn’t easy. It took a lot of learning, unlearning, and even failing before I could finally say I had mastered the concepts.  


Networking is such a big part of cybersecurity, and I knew I needed to get the basics right. The course introduced me to concepts like the OSI and TCP/IP models, which help explain how data moves from one device to another. At first, these models felt a bit theoretical, but as I went deeper, I started to see how they applied to real-life networks.  


I also learned about network commands like nslookup, netstat, ipconfig, and ping, which help check network connections and troubleshoot issues. Before this course, I had no idea that a simple command could tell me if a network was working or not. I also got hands-on experience setting up networks and configuring IP addresses, which made everything feel more real.  


Just when I thought I was getting the hang of things, I hit a roadblock. The assessments came, and I failed some of them. It was frustrating because I had put in so much effort, yet I still didn’t pass. For a moment, I doubted myself. Maybe I wasn’t as good at this as I thought.  


But instead of giving up, I went back to the lessons, rewatched videos, and practiced more. I made sure I wasn’t just memorizing things but actually understanding how they worked. The second time I took the assessments, everything clicked. I passed, and this time, I knew I had earned it.  


This experience taught me an important lesson. Failing isn’t the end, it’s part of learning. Struggling with something doesn’t mean you’re not capable, it just means you need more time and practice. And that’s okay.  


Now that I’ve completed this course, I feel more confident in my networking skills, but I also know this is just the beginning. There’s still so much to learn about network security, firewalls, and intrusion detection. This journey has shown me that growth comes from pushing through challenges, and I’m excited for what’s next.  


If you’ve ever failed at something you really wanted to achieve, don’t let it stop you. Take a step back, learn from it, and try again. You’ll get there. I did.



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