How to Start DSA — A 2-Year Honest Story No One Tells You

Two years ago, I opened LeetCode for the first time.

I solved one “Easy” problem.

It took me almost 2 hours.

And I still couldn’t understand half of the solution.

At that moment I thought:

“Maybe DSA is not for me.”

Today, after spending almost 2 years with Data Structures and Algorithms, solving problems daily, getting stuck hundreds of times, and slowly improving — I can confidently say one thing:

DSA is not hard. It is just unfamiliar.

And unfamiliar things always feel scary.

This blog is not written as a genius coder. It is written as a normal college student who struggled, doubted himself, felt lost, but still kept going.

If you are a beginner, confused about how to start DSA, this blog is for you.

🌱 Who Is This Blog For?

• College students who just heard the word “DSA”
• Beginners opening LeetCode and feeling overwhelmed
• Anyone thinking: “Can I really learn this?”

Short answer: Yes. You absolutely can.

And I’ll tell you how — in the most realistic way possible.

The Biggest Myth About DSA

When I started, I believed a lot of myths:

• “DSA is only for toppers.”
• “You need very high IQ.”
• “Good coders are born talented.”

After two years, I can say with full confidence:

These are all lies.

DSA does not care about:

• your college
• your branch
• your past grades
• how “smart” you think you are

It only cares about one thing:

👉 Consistency

That is the main message I want to give through this blog:

There is nothing in DSA that you cannot learn if you show up daily.

My Own Beginning — A Messy One

Let me be honest about my start.

I didn’t have any perfect roadmap. I didn’t even know what topics to study.

I just jumped randomly;

Result?

Complete confusion.

For months, I felt like:

“I’m solving problems but not improving.”

This is exactly where most beginners quit.

Luckily, I didn’t.

What Changed Everything for Me

The real turning point in my journey came when I stopped studying randomly and started learning in a structured way.

I personally used a platform called Codementees.

LIFE CHANGING THEY ARE FOR ME !!!!

They guided me throughout:

• what topics to study
• in which order
• how many problems to solve
• how to revise
• how to think while solving

That mentorship and structure saved me months of confusion.

This is why I always tell juniors:

DSA is not about solving 1000 problems. It is about solving the RIGHT problems in the RIGHT order.

So… How Should a Beginner Start DSA?

Let me now shift from story mode to guide mode.

Here is a simple, realistic roadmap I wish someone had given me on Day 1.

Step 1 — Pick One Language and Stick to It

First mistake beginners make:

“Which language is best for DSA?”

Truth:

Language does not matter much.

Pick any:

• C++ ( best for competitive programming )
• Java
• Python

And just stick to it.

I personally used C++, but the concepts are same everywhere.

Don’t waste weeks deciding language. Just start.

Step 2 — Build Basic Foundations First

Before jumping to LeetCode:

Make sure you are comfortable with:

• loops
• arrays
• strings
• functions
• basic time complexity

Without this, DSA will feel like rocket science.

Step 3 — Follow a Proper Order

DSA is like a building.

You cannot build the 5th floor first.

Here is a beginner-friendly sequence:

->Arrays

->Strings

-> Searching & Sorting

->Recursion

->Hashing

->Two Pointers

->Sliding Window

->Linked List

->Stack & Queue

->Trees

->Graphs

->Dynamic Programming

Don’t jump randomly between topics.

Complete one, then move to next.

Step 4 — The MOST Important Rule

Beginners often ask:

“How many questions should I solve?”

My answer:

Quality > Quantity

Instead of solving 10 easy questions daily:

• solve 2–3 good questions
• understand them deeply
• revise them later

DSA improvement happens when:

🧠 You understand patterns, not when you just increase problem count.

The Emotional Side of DSA

Let me talk about something technical blogs ignore:

The mental struggle.

In these 2 years I felt:

• frustrated
• dumb
• slow
• jealous of faster coders
• like quitting many times

And you know what?

That is completely normal.

Every single person learning DSA goes through this phase.

Struggle is not a sign you are bad.

It is a sign you are growing.

The Reality No One Tells Beginners

You will not become good in:

• 1 week
• 1 month
• sometimes not even 6 months

DSA is a long game.

But the beauty is:

If you stay consistent, improvement is guaranteed.

Soon you’ll see this happening ;)

Even 1% better daily = massive growth in a year.

Mistakes I Made (So You Don’t Have To)

Here are some real mistakes I made:

❌ Jumping to hard questions too early ❌ Watching solutions without trying ❌ Not revising old problems ❌ Comparing myself with others ❌ Solving randomly without plan

If you avoid these, you are already ahead of many students.

My Personal Learning Method

This simple routine helped me the most:

• Pick one topic
• Study concepts
• Solve 5–10 easy problems
• Then 10–15 medium problems
• Revise after 7 days

And most importantly:

👉 Code daily. Even if it is just one question.

Resources I Recommend

Since you asked for my personal resources:

• LeetCode — for practice
• GeeksForGeeks — for concepts
• Codementees’s sheets — for structured problems
• And the platform that personally guided me: **Codementees**

— all in one suggestion : Codementees — Guidance That Makes DSA Simple.

Having guidance from them made my journey much smoother.

If You Feel Stuck Right Now

Let me tell you something very important.

If today you feel:

“I can’t solve questions.” “ I am not made for DSA.” “ Everyone is better than me.”

You are exactly where every good coder once was.

Including me.

Final Message From My 2-Year Journey

After two long years with DSA, I have realized:

DSA is not about talent. DSA is not about IQ. DSA is not about being extraordinary.

It is simply about:

Showing up every day.

Even on bad days. Even when you feel dumb. Even when nothing makes sense.

Because consistency slowly turns confusion into clarity.

To Every Beginner Reading This

If you are just starting today:

• Don’t be scared
• Don’t rush
• Don’t compare
• Just start and stay consistent

Trust me on this:

There is nothing in DSA that you cannot learn.

I was once a confused beginner too.

And if I can do it, so can you.

Happy Coding 💻

Stay Consistent 🚀

— Rudraksh Tiwari