[LefterisJP]

I admit I have had no experience with code academy so I can in no way be qualified to judge it but what the post wants to convey is just simply true.

It's not the hard way, it's the right way to go about building something. You build your knowledge while you are working on your project and learn from your mistakes. This is how we all started and I suppose that the way to go about it has not and will not change for a while.