Name: Anonymous 2015-08-01 18:23
"Liz", who is a squirrel who is fascinated by technology and programming in particular. As she makes her way into the "forest of technology", though, she finds that there are few squirrels who are interested in technology. In fact, most of those who are learning about technology in the forest were all very similar to each other, but much different from her.
In fact, the others were badgers, she discovered. She wanted to fit in, but always stood out from the badger pack. They were generally nice, and she had nothing against badgers, but she could feel the eyes of the badgers on her whenever she entered a room and she was often "complimented" with lines like: "You are not like other squirrels" or "You are pretty good at technology for a squirrel."
She realized that the badgers knew lots about technology, so she thought she should perhaps become more badger-like to fit in. But that didn't change anything, she was still an outsider. At one point she organized a technology event and was asked by a badger whether she was just there for social reasons. She constantly had to prove her knowledge of technology, while badgers who knew far less than her were able to speak up freely.
Liz started to lose confidence in herself, worried that she was too shy and reserved to ever fit into the technology crowd, even though she loved the technical aspects of the field. She was able to make some friends among the badgers, though when she looked closely, she realized they weren't really badgers. Instead, they were really various other types of animals that only just kind of looked like badgers. The support from these friends helped her push on with her studies.
After a while, Liz realized that the problem wasn't with her, it was with the technology forest itself. She had to do so much more than badgers did to get the same recognition, but when she brought that subject up, it was not well-received, or even believed, by the badgers. She asked around about the problem on the internet and got the predictable responses about squirrel's inherent inferiority and inability to ever truly master technology.
Liz despaired of the situation ever changing. She was too tired to fight every day for her place, but then, through a fortunate series of events, she met another squirrel who loved technology. This squirrel was also named "Liz" and they became fast friends. She finally had someone with whom she could share her frustrations of trying to live in the forest of technology. She realized that she is not the only squirrel who loved technology, but was as intimidated and scared by the badger's world as she was.
Liz and Liz started to think about how awesome it would be if there were more squirrels that could get involved with technology and who could learn to love programming the way they did. So they came up with a crazy plan to teach other squirrels how to code. They told all of their friends about the idea and with their support, and the help of lots of others who joined in, the idea became a reality.
In fact, the others were badgers, she discovered. She wanted to fit in, but always stood out from the badger pack. They were generally nice, and she had nothing against badgers, but she could feel the eyes of the badgers on her whenever she entered a room and she was often "complimented" with lines like: "You are not like other squirrels" or "You are pretty good at technology for a squirrel."
She realized that the badgers knew lots about technology, so she thought she should perhaps become more badger-like to fit in. But that didn't change anything, she was still an outsider. At one point she organized a technology event and was asked by a badger whether she was just there for social reasons. She constantly had to prove her knowledge of technology, while badgers who knew far less than her were able to speak up freely.
Liz started to lose confidence in herself, worried that she was too shy and reserved to ever fit into the technology crowd, even though she loved the technical aspects of the field. She was able to make some friends among the badgers, though when she looked closely, she realized they weren't really badgers. Instead, they were really various other types of animals that only just kind of looked like badgers. The support from these friends helped her push on with her studies.
After a while, Liz realized that the problem wasn't with her, it was with the technology forest itself. She had to do so much more than badgers did to get the same recognition, but when she brought that subject up, it was not well-received, or even believed, by the badgers. She asked around about the problem on the internet and got the predictable responses about squirrel's inherent inferiority and inability to ever truly master technology.
Liz despaired of the situation ever changing. She was too tired to fight every day for her place, but then, through a fortunate series of events, she met another squirrel who loved technology. This squirrel was also named "Liz" and they became fast friends. She finally had someone with whom she could share her frustrations of trying to live in the forest of technology. She realized that she is not the only squirrel who loved technology, but was as intimidated and scared by the badger's world as she was.
Liz and Liz started to think about how awesome it would be if there were more squirrels that could get involved with technology and who could learn to love programming the way they did. So they came up with a crazy plan to teach other squirrels how to code. They told all of their friends about the idea and with their support, and the help of lots of others who joined in, the idea became a reality.