u/Vigil_Jester

I joined the discord server last week and for some reason I was expecting the server member count to be at least in the 500k if not a million - was very surprised to find that it's only at 80k and yet to break 100k people.

Obviously not everyone who did the TOP is going to be in discord, but even then, if we assume 80k is just 25% of the people who completed TOP (conservative estimate), that is only 320k people over a decade.

My question is - am I severely overestimating the number of people not only completing TOP but people who generally do web dev/comp sci/software engineering in general?

I do suppose the number is bottlenecked because most people who are passionate about development tend to do Comp Sci at college and thus never have to do these kinds of courses/bootcamps, but still surprised nonetheless considering that TOP is probably top 3 resource for beginners.

For whatever reason I always thought the number would be crazy high in the millions. I suppose it's another way to take pride in completing such a monumental task.

Growing up, I was always glued to screens. Whether it was binging on Netflix, playing Xbox games, watching Youtube on the phone, even working on my computer. This happened all through out my adolescence up until 25.

I was likely walking maybe 2-3k steps max a day and mostly spent my time indoors all the time. Thankfully I did get into the weightlifting community in my early 20s so I wasn't too out of shape and did have a decent frame and strength.

Last month, I decided to start walking 10k steps every day for the past month for mental health reasons. I had NO IDEA HOW SEDENTARY I WAS AND HOW MUCH IT WAS HARMING ME.

For the first time in my life, I have started to lose fat at a rapid rate especially around my face and upper body. I was always insecure about how I looked, but combined with the Vitamin D I am getting from being outside + walking miles every day, I seemed to be burning a lot more calories (eating the same diet).

Mental health boost is also no joke. I began walking without listening to music at all and I will likely keep doing that. I feel so grounded, in tune with my thoughts, and it allows me to quiet my mind even if I am busy and stressed.

It honestly feels like most of my anxiety was caused by me being indoors and being too alone with my thoughts for too long. Being outside, even though I am walking alone, has me realizing that there is so much to be seen, experienced, and people to meet. My only regret is that I didn't do this when I was younger, but still so grateful that I managed to realize this before my 30s.

I seriously encourage everyone to walk. It will change your life. It will save your life if you are anxious all the time too. It seems trivial and boring at first, but you will see benefits mentally almost immediately and physically not so long after.

You don't realize how sedentary you are until you start hitting 10k steps a day.