The Fellowship of the Code
There’s a reason the Fellowship of the Ring is a fellowship, because we can accomplish more and hang on longer as a team than we can alone. This is a truth that goes beyond this educational setting, and one I hope I do not forget.
In the first two weeks of the program I felt overwhelmed and alone in my struggle with understanding the amount of information that had been thrown at me. It was only the first week and already I felt behind. How could this be? Was I just not cut out for this? Had this been a mistake? An impossible journey? I compared myself to my peers, mainly the ones that participated and so obviously were NOT struggling with understanding and solving python problems. Luckily, the timeline of my despair coincided with my one on one meeting with the cohort lead. I opened up to her about my struggles and she wisely encouraged me to seek out a study buddy. Although I knew she was right, the thought of being vulnerable and having someone find out how dumb I was was not something I felt comfortable doing. I played with the idea of sending out a slack message asking if anyone was looking for a study buddy. Maybe I did not need a study buddy. I could do this on my own. There were groups already being formed, but being part of a large group was even more daunting— I feared I would feel even more slow, and would be a bother to those already flying through. The burden of sending a message was lifted off me when someone else posted on slack seeking a study buddy. I jumped at the chance, but others replied and I feared I would lose the study buddy to the famous group already formed. Just when I thought perhaps I’d lost to the group, I received a message from the study buddy seeker. We agreed that we both worked better in smaller groups and I became the second half of a study group. Having a study buddy made me realize I was not completely alone. We shared similar anxieties and concerns. It was liberating to admit I did not understand things, and to try to understand them with someone else. Later, our study group grew by one person. The three of us helped each other solve errors, debug code, and learn. We studied together for the final exam, exchanged stories about our despair, and made each other laugh. I firmly believe I would not have passed the first Module without the help of this study group. Their willingness to explain things to me, and the moments I was able to explain things to them made learning not only successful but incredibly fun.
I had always been a very independent student. Group work made my stomach twist into knots. Nevertheless, this experience has opened my eyes to how much easier it can be to go through challenging things with company. Through Module 2 our study group has grown with an addition of 2 members. It’s a larger group than I initially imagined, but just as fun and helpful. We help each other find our typos, reassure each other, motivate each other, and share in the incomparable joy of solving errors.
There’s a reason the Fellowship of the Ring is a fellowship, because we can accomplish more and hang on longer as a team than we can alone. This is a truth that goes beyond this educational setting, and one I hope I do not forget.
The rumor is that Module 3 will focus on teamwork. We’ll be placed into groups and our final project will be a group project. As it is in the “real world", we will not choose our teammates. I can only hope that I can contribute enough to make the team work the positive experience it has been thus far.