So I feel like looking up solutions for my code is cheating, so I try to do it on my own for hours. Nothing I try works and the solution is usually something really simple and I feel like I'm never going to understand..

Search the answer for once, practice it, remember it for eternity

I still have to look up syntax for array literals every time I switch language. The Google foo is a help, not a hindrance!

What? Use Google.

You don't have to decorate the syntax, you just need the logic.

For example, you know that you need to stringify a JSON, Google how to do it.

You have a compile error and don't know why, search the error, when you find a solution stop for a while to understand why that works and if is a good solution for you.

The rest, knowing the sytax, patterns etc comes with time.

I usually keep a fixed time frame to try to solve the problem on my own, if I still remain unsuccessful, I search for the logic online, once I completely understand the logic, I try coding it on my own. Because in the end logic is all that matters, not the syntax