Rethinking Pace: The Slow Learner’s Story

Rethinking Pace: The Slow Learner’s Story

Admittedly, I've always identified as a 'slow learner.' In my school years, I grappled with the fast-paced absorption of concepts, and this struggle cast a shadow on my academic performance. This inadvertently bred a harmful perception within me—I began to believe that I was not intellectually competent. The transition to university did little to change this perception, as the swift pace of academia only compounded my difficulties.

In the intense race to produce results within tight deadlines, cramming became my reluctant ally. I couldn't seem to go any faster, and this ordeal imprinted a skewed understanding of learning in my mind. Looking back, the crux of the issue was not about my pace of learning, but the lack of sufficient time to let my comprehension bloom naturally.

To make matters worse, I was yet to discover the learning methods that worked best for me, leaving me experimenting with various approaches without fruitful outcomes. This iterative process led me to embrace the tag of a "slow learner."

As I embarked on my journey to learn how to build Android applications in Kotlin, I was confronted with the same challenges. My progress seemed agonizingly slow. Reflecting on my achievements, I couldn't shake off the sensation of lagging behind. The path to understanding classes, subclasses, constructors, primary and secondary constructors, along with the notions of public, private, and internal modifiers, was a long, winding one.

Sharing my concerns and progress with my mentor, I jokingly referred to myself as a #delayedandroiddeveloper. My mentor's response, however, provided a transformative perspective. He said, "Jess, your view of learning is rather distorted. This is why you are overlooking the small but significant milestones in your learning journey."

He went on to share a profound insight: "Learning is a continuous journey, there's nothing like fast or slow, the only thing is that with time it gets better." These words resonated with me and spurred a change in my perspective.

The liberating aspect of my current endeavour to master Android is that I am the driver of my learning journey. I have the privilege to set my pace, free from the pressure of time constraints. The real victory lies in understanding and internalizing the content I'm learning, thus ensuring my competency in the subject.

In addition, learning should be a joyous and exhilarating experience. The beauty of the tech world is its flexibility and openness to varied learning styles. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, the focus is on carving a path that ensures learning is enjoyable, adaptable, and tailor-made to suit individual preferences. This revelation has helped me reframe my understanding of what it means to be a 'slow learner,' making me realize that sometimes, the slow lane can offer the richest of learning experiences.