I knew a quick and easy way to debug my code. When I studied in college, I waited in line in front of my professor's office with other students during his office hours, and he gave me clues to fix my mistakes as soon as he glanced at my printed code. He didn't tell me exactly how to fix them, but he shared with me how to approach that.
Compared to schoolwork, where the person I was asking prepared the assignment, the colleagues at work whom I bring questions to do not always know what I'm trying to accomplish. To ask questions, I should explain what I'm doing, the background, and the problem that I want to solve. One of my managers taught me not to ask questions in a way that wasted people's time. My questions should be well-prepared, and they will help my work and others'.
As soon as my mentor, Michael, gave me a task for the project, I started learning more about the project so that I could ask questions. I carefully read the email from him and tried to follow code line by line. Unfortunately, that didn't immediately help me to come up with questions to ask.
I dreamed that I would prepare my questions in emails and receive answers from Michael and his team. That stressed me out. I only could understand a line here and there, and I could not put together the bigger picture. I was confused. I felt that I lost my words. This was not writer's block, I think. I was frustrated.
During the first week, with the most courage I had, I sent them an email that I didn't have any questions at the time. I felt miserable. I wanted to ask questions, maybe not well-prepared questions, but I really wanted to ask questions so that I could explain what I understood and didn't understand. I felt lost.
However, I didn't just get stressed out and frustrated: I was also studying. I read the material Michael gave me, and I became happy when I found a small piece of information that I could understand. I tried to break through and come out from struggling.
Toward the end of the first week, a light shined through my clouded sky. Michael emailed me that he could talk with me on the phone. At first, I thought that I would like email better than calls because I like writing. He gave me times when he would be available. I had to prepare questions to ask him on the phone! I saw an immediate goal that I might be able to reach.
Michael spent about an hour answering my questions. He also shared with me tips on how to set up a Linux VM in Azure that I can use. I wanted to use the tool! Learning that became the next small target that I could shoot for.
I thought that, when the internship started, it was an assignment without a syllabus. Michael clearly explained my task, but my knowledge was too immature, so he had to hold my hand and nudge me in the right direction.
I am still struggling, but in a good sense. Today, I received answers from Michael and another mentor, Sasha. I hope that I will fix my bugs with their answers and be ready to ask them more questions soon.