Developer.
Speaker.
Cloud Nerd. 🚀

Just Keep Learning

The biggest lie we believe in tech is that other people magically possess innate knowledge. I've been a public speaker since 2019 and a Microsoft MVP since 2020. I have written a couple of books and been a technical reviewer on a few more. Public speaking was something I never even considered doing until my now-best friend convinced me to try the first time I met her. The rest, I would never have expected. I get just as excited, proud, and shocked each time I get renewed as an MVP. And I get a huge grin every time I see my name in print. It is beyond my wildest dreams. Before this, I always assumed that speakers and MVPs knew everything. I thought they were god-like figures in the community who had knowledge that mere mortals like myself could only hope to absorb but a tiny fraction. Don't get me wrong, there are still speakers who I hold to this standard. But mainly, speakers are regular people who just want to share their learning and passions. The knowledge that comes doesn't just magically appear. It is not an innate ability to use any tech and talk about it. That also goes for those god-like speakers. It takes hard work and frustration. I've given talks about AI in the past — about how we can use it for good, and how to not overuse it. I talk about ensuring that what we get back from it is worth its cost, and trying to make sure that I don't get dumbed down because of it. I've used AI at work to help me code for a while now. I have a whole system — which I will write about at some point—to take me from idea to implementation. So, am I an expert? No. There is so much that I have not gotten right yet. That is why I signed up for a workshop. It covers the basics of what I already know, and then takes it further so that I can refine my use cases, make them even more efficient, and produce better results. One of the things I love about working in IT is that there is always something new to learn. It never gets boring. It is also frustrating, because there is always more to learn than we could ever fit into one person. I write this to say: if you see people and think they are amazing individuals who just magically get knowledge, and it frustrates you that you are not one of them, don't stress. They didn't miraculously obtain this knowledge from some magical crystal. They worked for it. I turned 50 last month, and I am taking a training session on something that I use regularly. I am still looking at other things that I want to do and learn. Keep learning. Get frustrated. Feel the joy of getting something to work. It's more fun than only prompting. And when you do prompt, it'll give you the knowledge you need to spot the problems in what is produced. And then, if you want, share that knowledge, frustration, and passion with others.