“The world is your oyster.” a proverb from ancient times, also present in Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. At a random occurrence, this thought came to mind with all the possibilities in our world. Despite all the possible odds, we’ve come to a point where we can accomplish more than our predecessors ever have, growing more each day.

For anyone, so much learning can take place on a playground, whether literal or figurative. Getting rough and learning about the ins and outs of the system, playing safe, and then taking it further. There are (usually) no directions for playing, simply exploring and learning the environment around you. Even if you hurt yourself and cry about the pain to your parents, you eventually come back another day to play more and avoid the same mistakes you made before.

Growing up, I was lucky to live in a town that had many playgrounds. Wood, metal, rubber, plastic all formed together to create an obstacle course of sorts. Actual parks that had jungle gyms, swings, see-saws, and other furniture that allowed me to play. I remember bruising myself and getting a black eye because I didn’t time my fall correctly on one. I was embarrassed because it was easily visible but it was something I had to deal with because of my own decision to jump without proper consideration for the risks.

Hanging upsidedown, pulling myself through on top of monkey bars, climbing to the highest point standing outside the rails, swaying higher than others at the swings, there were so many points at which I could have hurt myself. Instead I came out mostly fine, aside from occasional bruises, being able to expend my energy at a playground and discover more about it was more fun. Even if I hurt myself, that didn’t deter me from continuing to do what I could do.

Now I’m happy to play around online in this from Wordpress to jekyll blog, breaking features, disabling features, adding new features, experimenting with my own words and thoughts. I’ve always found that making mistakes and breaking things leads to more learning than being lectured about the world. Having hands on experience and putting things out for others to evaluate brings about higher quality and appreciation for the project.

It’s by mistakes and errors that one is able to learn and improve. If you break something, whether it be an important plugin or even a limb, it teaches you more about the capability of yourself. Though you may be a fool at the moment you committed the mistake, you are wiser the next time you encounter a similar situation. You learn not to do something so foolishly again, but to play around it or even improve upon it so that you do not make the same mistake again!

Inspired by this Atlantic article about parents being overprotective about their kids. Check it out too!