My Java professor (who is the absolute best) went on a bit of a rant today about how we as a class can’t seem to intuitively understand object-oriented programming and how that’s because someone, at some point, took away our crayons. 

He explained that our education system (especially when it comes to the Sciences) really focusses on creating individuals who are procedural, individuals who can solve equations and who know facts, but who are told in various ways that what they are doing cannot be creative. Somebody took away our crayons, so we had to stop drawing. But object-oriented programming is the kind of thing that requires pictures in brilliant colours.

This has been a huge struggle for me, because I think that my crayons were taken away at a much later stage in my life than my peers. Or maybe they were never really taken from me. In any case, I’ve been very challenged by the fact that my education—especially my higher education—has stifled my creativity in every way possible. I guess that’s why I do have an intuitive understanding of object-oriented programming and why I struggle with procedural programming.

I see it as a way to get back to my crayons and I love that.