Things I Learned From The Co-op Student
While he is learning all about the life of becoming a code monkey – he is actually teaching me a few things about myself and about life:
- Shogi – I taught him to play a couple of weeks ago. Overall, the win-loss record has been heavily in his favour. So much so, that we play handicap games now. He is a natural.
- Chilling out – I have a tendency to run around like a chicken-sans-head. He pointed that out to me on more than one occasion.
- Non-book based learning – He suggests that I look for knowledge and wisdom through different means. Books are my default knowledge acquisition method, but experimenting and experiencing also a perfectly fine ways of learning.
- The limits of my patience – He used to ask all kinds of questions about all kinds of things. I have this unusual ability to listen to his strange theories and figure out the exact hole in his knowledge then go about educating him on the subject matter. This happened so much so that I tell him that I won’t listen to him anymore. He has since reduced the questioning.
- Being right – Sometimes, you just have to put feelings and niceties aside and just say things like: “You are a noob, you listen to me.” I have a tad of a my-way-or-the-highway attitude. Sometimes.
- WoW – He gives me fairly detailed updates on his going-ons with his character. That’s probably as close as I’d like to get to playing. Real life is keeping me busy enough as it is. I like to tell him that leveling up in real life is also rewarding.
- The fairer sex and relationships – He’s not as experienced as I in this particular line of business – which is actually an advantage. He is so much less jaded – and more open to how things could unfold. I think that in this particular matter, I had some unlearning to do.
- On giving – There might have been days when I am just totally worn out from his questionings – and I wonder why I even bother. Then I realize that I am getting as much out of this as he is. Seeing him level up (in terms of coding and technical knowledge) is actually rewarding. But don’t get me wrong – I sure as hell don’t want to teach for a living.
I am pretty sure that there are more lessons for me from the young grasshopper in the coming months.
