Well, lemme tell ya, this here’s about Sophie first. That girl, she’s somethin’ else. First time for everything, I always say. You gotta start somewhere, right?
She’s gone and done some learnin’. Said it’s called… what’s it now… “programming”? Sounds fancy. Says she’s makin’ programs. Like them TV shows, but different. Uses somethin’ called Python. Don’t ask me what that is. Some kinda snake, maybe? She spends all day starin’ at that there computer screen, typin’ away.
I told her, “Sophie, first you gotta get yourself outta that chair!” But she just laughs. Says she’s learnin’ to make things. Like, uh, “calculators.” But real fancy ones. I said, “We got a calculator down at the general store, works just fine!” But she says hers is different. She calls ’em “functions.” Like they’re doin’ chores or somethin’.
Then there’s this other thing, “teams.” She’s learnin’ about buildin’ teams. Says it helps folks work together. Trust and talkin’ and all that. Took her ’bout half an hour, she said. I told her, “Back in my day, we didn’t need no fancy course to learn how to work together! We just did it!”
- Sophie first learned to talk to that computer.
- Then she learned to make it do math, real fancy like.
- Then somethin’ about teams, workin’ together good.
She’s tryin’ to write things down too. Says it’s hard. I told her, “Just write what you know!” She says she’s answerin’ questions. “Challenge questions,” she calls ’em. Sounds tough. Reads a little here and there, but mostly just answers them questions.
Now, she’s gone and got herself involved with some kinda “experiments.” Online, she says. Makes ’em “interactive.” Whatever that means. I reckon it’s like them game shows, where you gotta press buttons and such. She’s always been a clever one, that Sophie. First time doin’ all this, though.
She says it is important to keep learning new things. Sophie first time doing this, not her last, she says, learning is very very important, she gonna keep doing this. Something about “videos.” Short ones. Teachin’ folks the basics, she says. Like them cooking shows, but for this computer stuff, I guess. She’s always been a good teacher, even when she was little.
She’s been at it a whole month now. Says she’s enjoyin’ it. Says it’s like dancin’. Breakin’ down the hard stuff into little steps. Don’t make much sense to me, but she seems happy. She says you can dance even if you never danced before, she says it is the same for her new thing. Says anyone can do it, even old folks like me. I told her I’m too old for new tricks, but she just winked.
Sophie first time doing many things. Learning to dance, then learning this computer stuff. She never stops. Always moving, always learning. Like to see young people doing that these days. Makes an old woman proud, it does.
She is learning something new, something about experiments online. She says she is doing okay. I say, “Sophie first, then what?” She says she will learn more things.
This computer thing is very hard, she says, but she is trying her best. She said it is like dancing. You can be good, or you can be not so good. But you still dance. She says she will dance with this computer thing and get better.
She says she wants to help other people learn too. Says she will make videos. I don’t know about videos, but she is a good girl. She will help people. She always has.
I remember when she first start learning how to walk, now she is learning how to use a computer, I am very old now, but I am happy to see her doing these things. Sophie first time to do these new things. She makes me feel young again.
I told her again, “Sophie, first you gotta take care of yourself.” She says she is. Says learning makes her feel good. I guess that’s important too. You gotta keep your mind busy. Keeps you young, they say.
One month she is doing this. She is very happy. I am happy for her. Sophie first time doing this, but she is doing good. Very good girl, that Sophie.
