I had my first lesson in learning to be humble: my very first C++ lab. I was kind of lost, not knowing what I am doing, trying to figure it out, and not paying enough attention to the instruction that mention time limit to upload my work... uploading the unfinished file on top of the finished correct one (that means I lost the good one).
Anyhow, it was a good first lesson that taught me to be humble. Here I am like any other undergraduate, realizing that in my class I have colleagues who know programing, know what they are doing.
I am confident I do the good thing by being a student again. So now I understand my own EPFR515 students' struggle when I ask them to use the Blackboard discussion board and design their own first blog. Some did not hear ever before this "blog" word and have no clue what is all about. More than that some have a generic e-mail account (1-2 not even an e-mail account) that they don't use too often. When I tell them that setting up a blog account is like setting up an e-mail account, and posting is like writing e-mail.... but if they do not use the e-mail...
Now I can feel and understand their frustration.
I had to install on my PC the program that will allow me to complete my C++ assignments. I had no clue what .iso files are and how should one burn a CD from .iso files. Thank Google I found the instructions, and managed myself to have all done (OK, in two days!). Friday the internet at my house was down because my provider had some system problems for 24 hours. I did not know I am so dependent on the internet, without it I am "dead." I cannot imagine life without internet... isn't that interesting? In Romania I did not have e-mail, I did not even see too many computers, and was using one for the first time when I was in college in mid '90s.
I enjoy learning C++. I also know that having a Ph. D. does not make me any different from my undergraduate colleagues in CS 140! Some of those guys can be my teachers.
This is a lesson to learn being humble.