[quote name='wiz3kid' timestamp='1322634879' post='4888989']
[quote name='swiftcoder' timestamp='1322634592' post='4888987']
... and go do all the usual highschool things - sports, girlfriends, etc. You'll only regret it later if you don't.
Regret? Why regret?[/quote]
Because you are only young once.
In a couple of years, you won't have half the time and energy you do now, to tryout a new sport, chase after that redhead, learn to fix motorcycles... But you will always have time to learn esoteric programming languages, because it's the kind of thing you can squeeze into half-hour breaks between class, work, and so-forth.
[/quote]
Regret? Regret?! You know, somehow I don't regret doing the same exact stereotypical garbage everyone else supposedly spends their time with in school. I don't regret having a solid five year head-start on my peers when I got to university. And I certainly don't regret that I had a resume that involved me doing stuff and building products; somehow skirt-chasing doesn't quite set you up for the future.
To be honest, I resent the implication that 'sports' and 'girlfriends' are the normal high school pursuits and everything else is squandering your youth. I also dislike the suggestion that you should strive to be normal, or that only doing fun things during high school is the right choice. It strikes me as an incredibly shallow and short-sighted bit of advice. I don't have anything against sports, really -- fitness is good, and sports can be a big door opener if you're serious. But I have a huge problem with telling our younger audience, hey, spend your time on frivolous stuff and come back when you're older. That's not right.
A bit farther down, swiftcoder does clarify the advice, but that's not at all how the original statements read. I felt it was worth bringing up as a separate discussion, because the advice as written exasperated me so badly. I'm coming up on 25 years old now; not old at all, but enough to have gained some perspective on my high school and college years. Of all my regrets from all those years, my involvement with computers and programming certainly never rates as anything other than a huge positive. It got me everything I have today in no small measure. There are threads here periodically asking 'am I too young?' or something along those lines. The way I see it, doing is the single most important force we have, and you're almost never too young to start doing what you are passionate about.
). I'm not really a party animal because I'd rather be where I am now. Regarding schoolwork, I get decent grades(honour roll, etc.) but I could do much better if I cared more. Other people care about things like these but I'm just happy sitting in my basement. Well "sitting in my basement" is how others see it anyways. In reality, I'm on a quest for knowledge. I'm learning the way I want to and I'm having fun doing it and that's what I don't have any regrets(so far).
