Am I a Monk or a Software Developer Student

I am a student of the Microverse course since August 2019. In my free time (Sadly, It’s a very very short time), I have been reading a wonderful Sloterdijk’s book called “You must change your life”.

In that book, there is a definition of asceticism that I want to bring it up:

“In his differentiation between asceticisms, Nietzsche posited a clear divide between the priestly varieties on the one side, illuminated by his vicious gaze, and the disciplinary rules of intellectual workers, philosophers, and artists as well as the exercises of warriors and athletes on the other side...the latter only impose their regulations on themselves because they see them as a means of reaching their optimum as thinkers and creators of works.”

That definition makes sense to me when a compare my monastic routine as a Microverse student.

The daily routine consists of attending meetings where we practice algorithms, soft skills and working on projects where my partner and I have to face different situations that test our creativity, skills of researching and patience.

The formal routine in Microverse lasts 8 hours from Monday to Friday, however, the impact of the new content we learn create a passive time where we still are thinking about challenges we have, so it’s common to see students in the middle of a familiar dinner smiling because they find an idea to apply to their projects.

To be a great developer is acknowledge an ascetic life, a life where we impose restrictions like avoiding media distractions, reducing our social life, joining with people who share the same monastic style, people who respect our moments of loneliness but share with joy their experiences of reaching their optimum as Nietzche said.

Maybe could be less strict ways to get a great level as a developer, but people who choose programs like Microverse tend to pursue excellence beyond thinking future jobs and are amazed for this strange new brand field of knowledge known as computer science.