7 ms·
Ask YC: In the hack of life, is it the people or the code?
I am currently a college senior who upon gotten rejected by YCombinator (made it past the 1st round, didn't make it beyond the interview), have decided to take on another project. Hey you might have even heard of it, it is called life.
The first time I tackled on the project of life was during high school, when I decided to quit Computer Science. I was frustrated by those surrounded me, who cared about U.S News & Report college rankings than the possibility of the subjects that we were learning then. Too often, we talked about too a bland thing - maybe we were all not-so-very-daring, conversations centered around homeworks, college, computer games and sports, and not upon the philosophy or the very core of human affinity for another that I was searching for. I felt that I was isolated from the mainstream society - like Bobby Fischer tinkering on an abstract chessboard in his head - what's the point if there's no one who could appreciate the beauty of the algorithm as you do?
So I went to a small, non-technical, liberal artsy college, bent on starting afresh. For the first two years of college, I tried to meet as many interesting people as I could, people, for a lack of a better phrase and to plagiarize Jack Kerouac, burn, burn, burn. So I went to hipster parties, concerts, and have had many a late-night conversation with someone, I meshed in the "social scene" of college, I had made lots of friends - I have met a few amazing people whom I could relate closet ever in my life. I daresay that I felt even happy for a time-being, except not. It was like a second language to me. I was fluent in the social subtleties, what to say at what time, but I said it like I was in a sheep's clothing - like I was LAMP developer forced to use .net tools for money. I hated that I couldn't be my true self, that I had to dress a certain way, that I had to have a specific set of approved outlooks and opinions, that I had to attend or do certain activities identified with a sub-culture, just to fit in.
So I decided to start all over again, and start programming again. I re-discovered the joy of striking it on your own, building something concrete out of just a trace of inspiration in your mind, a itch that you just wana scratch, doing it because you want to do it, not to placate anyone else. But at the same time, I alienated myself from all of my friends - in my cocoon of midnight bliss of hacking, I could care less about the everyday social small talk BS or superficial parties filled with even more superficial people. But always, after finishing a big project, I would hit a wall because after initial ecstasy, because I realize that I had been staying in my room for a whole week straight and haven't had talked to anyone for a long time.
I realize that my little tirade sounds a little bit like "Catcher in the Rye," the CS major edition. But I would like to know your experience as a hacker/programmer living in the real world filled not with news.yc/slashdot people, but with regular people.
In the hack of life for happiness, in the long-run is it about the people or the code?
- petercooper 18y agoRemember that the topic of "people" can be sub-divided. "People" does not mean everyone (acquaintances, business partners, even good friends). It can mean your wife / significant other, your kids, and your family. It can be "about" them and not the "other" people. In a subtle way I guess I've been like you, neglected social aspects and focused on my business to the point where I only have a few firm friends. Life is still not, however, "about" them. Life is about doing what I want to do, but ultimately my wife, my (forthcoming) kid, and to a lesser extent, my parents. The trick in life, I'm finding, is to still have respect for people, try hard, and be able to support yourself while you nurture the things you appreciate most. For me, that'll be my ambitions and my family. Friends will be a bonus. For you, perhaps, it's programming for now, and family later. Go with what feels "nice."
- NowStreamMike 18y agowhy does the last line sound like one of the voice overs from 'Sex and the City', maybe 'Nerd and the City'? Happiness is as happiness does. Be happy with yourself. Everything else in life follows from that.
- andr 18y agoWhat I do is keep on programming, etc., but mostly keep non-geeks as friends. I also tried the "hide your inner geek" thing, but in the end I seem to do better socially when I'm open about my interests (although I did lose a few people that I was friends with only on the base of common partying and clubbing interests). The reason is simple - being an entrepreneurial programmer is one very distinguishable feature about you, especially in liberal art schools. If you look around you'll see that most people your age don't have something very unique about them. For example, I only told a few friends about my startup, but the word spread out quite quickly and everyone is excited about it, calling me to check how things are going, etc. Somebody else got that McKinsey job, which is also cool, but that's not what people are talking about over drinks at the bar.
- cowmoo 18y agoHmm, it's good to hear the two cents from the founder of the Feel Good Initiatives. I am a big fan of your project. I am also staying in Boston (near Beacon Hill) for the summer, and slightly off topic but not really, what are the cool stuff that hackers could do in Boston?