I Debug Code Like I Debug Life (Spoiler: Both Throw Exceptions)

Source: Dev.to

Being a software developer is a lot like being human

I write code for a living. One thing I love about code:

• If it doesn’t like you, it tells you immediately.
• If you’re wrong, it throws an error.
• If you forget a semicolon, it remembers forever.

Life, on the other hand, waits three years and then says:

“Hey… remember that decision you made? Yeah. About that.”

In programming, we call this technical debt.

Types of bugs

• The ones you expect.
• The ones that happen because the environment is… creative.

Workplace reality

Sometimes I walk into a meeting and:

• I’m the only woman.
• I’m also the backend.
• I’m somehow still expected to fix frontend CSS.

This is not imposter syndrome. My mind is basically:

// TODO: fix sleep schedule

The “later” trap

Every time I say “I’ll do it later,” and just like in real projects:

• Some TODOs become features.
• Some become bugs.
• Some live forever and scare new contributors.

Debugging mindset

People think debugging is about being smart. It’s about asking questions like:

• “What did I assume?”
• “What did I change?”
• “Why does this work only on my machine?”
• “Why does it stop working when someone is watching?”

Emotional intelligence in debugging

• Don’t panic.
• Observe.
• Reduce the problem.
• Remove assumptions.
• Take breaks before you delete everything.

Humor in tech

Tech moves fast. But humor?

• Zero dependencies.
• Backward compatible.
• Works across teams.

Excellent for handling production incidents at 3 AM. When the server is down and everyone is stressed:

“Okay. This is bad. But also… kinda funny.”

Then you fix it. Obviously.

Building confidence

I didn’t wake up confident. Confidence came from:

• Breaking things.
• Fixing them.
• Asking “stupid” questions.
• Shipping anyway.
• Learning that perfection doesn’t deploy.

The best developers I know aren’t fearless. They just commit despite the warnings. I’m still learning. But I ship.

“I don’t know yet — but I will.”

Final thoughts for fellow developers

• Your bugs don’t define you.
• Your errors are data.
• Your weird brain is probably a feature.
• If today feels broken… try restarting.

Thanks for reading. If this resonated, you’re probably running the same version of reality as me.