[3np]

> GET. OVER. YOURSELF.

Very much this. "I’d prefer to not be mediocre."

OP: You are holding yourself back as long as you believe this. If you enjoy programming and aren't burning out just struggling to pass, just keep at it. You're at first year in uni. You're not expected to "be" anything but learning and getting by.

If you made the brainfuck interpreter for yourself, you shouldn't let others' opinion get to you like this. And if it does, be more conscious about who you solicit opinions from.

If it's course-work, well, it's just part of the journey. It's normal to rewrite your study projects from scratch once or twice or more. Try different ways to do the same thing and keep an open mind.

Finally some motivation: I'm probably twice your age, and no doubt the kind of motivation and curiousity you say you have is worth 10x more in the long run than 10~20 IQ here or there.

Also read this: https://pthorpe92.dev/programming/magic/