8th Light
September 24, 2015As my first week at 8th Light begins to wrap up I am reminded how great the apprenticeship program is. One of the things that I really like about the program is how it is made up of a wide variety of people with all different backgrounds, all of whom bring something a little different to the team. One thing I was told very early on was that you can learn something new from everyone, whether or not they are a craftsman or a brand new apprentice. I think it’s this kind of mindset that makes 8th Light so special and adds to the environment that makes continued learning that much more fun.
Part of being an apprentice at 8th Light is blogging regularly, so I thought I would use this as an opportunity to talk about some of things I went well this week as well as some of things that I felt I can improve on. On the first day I got re-aquainted with my mentor Chris Peak and co-mentor Erica Garcia. They asked me how I was with certain skills and where I think I should devote time to becoming stronger in others. Anything that I felt I needed to work on or just wanted to learn was added to a list that was written on the wall (yes, literally the wall).
Also part of being an apprentice is creating weekly projects and reviewing them at the end of the week with your mentors. For the first week Chris and Erica left it fairly open, asking what I wanted to do. I told them that I had completed a positioning project in the past, but I felt like I could improve upon it. That day I devoted the remainder of the afternoon to my project.
Even though I felt fairly comfortable with the subject matter for the project, I was unhappy with the direction the project was taking. Each time I would start, I would end up working on it for an hour or two and scrap everything I had. Looking back I was definitely putting a little too much pressure on myself. Instead of focusing on the material I kept thinking about what my mentors would think of the project at the end of the week. One thing that really helped me was a conversation I had with Eric Meyer, an 8th Light Software Craftsman. I told Eric the problems I was having and how I kept starting over. Eric gave me some great advice. He reinforced that as an apprentice I am here to learn, and that it is much easier for my mentor and other craftsman to teach and provide feedback on something that is physically there and not abstract. Eric made me realize that at this point in my career I am still learning and should not be afraid to make a few mistakes. Although he may not know it, this conversation really helped me when it came to completing my project.
Overall I think I learned a very valuable lesson this week. Asking for help, or just picking the brain of another person can be really beneficial to overcoming obstacles. That is something that I really appreciate here at 8th Light, every team member seems willing to offer advice or provide help when needed. I look forward to the continued challenges, projects and learning experiences during my apprenticeship.