from Hacker News

Ask HN: What was the most transformative experience you had as a student?

by optbuild on 5/18/23, 5:19 PM with 2 comments

During your student life starting from school and beyond what is the most mind-bending event you encountered? Some say that reading a book or taking a class created that experience for them. You can consider yourself a student well beyond college or university if you are still learning with the same curiousity at your workplace and learning still intrigues you.

What was it for you?

  • by vladmk on 5/18/23, 5:29 PM

    all the lessons would be way too long to write, but here’s a fun crazy one:

    I had a stalker once who complained to my employer (this was after I rejected her) that I was harassing them.

    Her mom came down to our office to complain about me - what ended up happening was even crazier.

    My team was behind me because it was impossible for me to harass her and kept telling her to leave me alone, but my manager called me in to the office anyways.

    I told him to ask the team and that it was false, but he gave me advice that I still utilize to this day.

    “Vlad when cleaning a mess, use the lightest detergent first”.

    It was very simple, so I apologized to her and surprisingly things smoothened out a bit. All it took was for me to be more cordial towards this girl.

    Now here’s the crazy kicker - my boss who gave me that exact same advice was later kicked out of the school on sexual abuse charges so sometimes I wonder if his detergent lesson wasn’t a metaphor.