You say "each time a for loop iterates, the variables are re-initialized". The initialization of a variable is when it is first set to a value after being declared. Only variables that are declared within the scope that is the body of the loop are reinitialized. In the code from the lecture, int j​ is declared (and initialized) within the body of the loop, and so its lifetime is only until the end of each iteration of the loop, and it effectively ceases to exist and is reinitialized at the start of the next iteration. In your code, int bob​ is declared outside of the loop, and in the scope that is the body of the main​ method. It therefore lives until the end of the main method, and when the statement bob = 300;​ inside the for loop is executed, it will set bob​ to 300 on each iteration (even though after the first iteration, it is already 300). The variable bob​ is accessible within the body of the loop because nested scopes can access any variables declared in the scopes that contain them. I will also note that you used the term "global variable". Global variables are not really a thing in Java, and bob​ in particular is definitely not a global, but rather is a local variable in the scope of main​ (and hence in any nested scopes inside main​).