Onto new adventures!

Friday, August 31, 2012 - 18:53

My Drupal journey started some five years ago, and it is now about to end. It's been a fantastic journey.

Technology

 

This blog post is cross-posted at skillcompass.org.
 
A year ago I started studying to become a school teacher in maths and physics. While studying it became clear to me that teaching and Drupal are two passions that are so big that they don't fit in my head at the same time, and while Drupal is one of the most fun and engaging things I know, the competition from teaching and education was just overwhelming. I know that teaching and education is what I want to dedicate my professional life to, and if that means stop doing Drupal then so be it.
 
I will miss Drupal. One of the most remarkable things with Drupal is that it has, over at least five years, allowed me to learn new stuff all the time. That Drupal allows you to always learn more useful things and expand the things you can do with it is, I think, one of its most important and compelling characteristics.
 
But, as all Drupalistas can testify, the real thing about Drupal is the people. I have been lucky enough to meet so many great people and have so much fun. Here are just a few highlights:
 
  • Playing Drupal-Dixit with fago, Klausi, John Albin, fubhy and more at DrupalCon Denver, and laughing ourselves silly.
  • Playing Broken Picture Telephone outside a vegetarian restaurant in Denver with a big bunch of Drupalistas, laughing ourselves silly.
  • Discussing really stupid module ideas with Sun, Lin Clark, frega and others in Berlin, laughing ourselves really silly in the process.
  • Coming back to the lobby at Drupal Tower (Chicago) two days after the official DrupalCon has ended, to still find a few Drupalistas hanging around – and noticing that I feel at home.
  • The wonderful people at NodeOne (now Wunderkraut – best of luck!), with all the great time and crazy ideas we shared. I will probably never work at such a lively and dynamic place again.
  • The awesome Swedish Drupal community, where I started my Drupal time.
 
One thing that I have really learned in the Drupal communit, is the power of open source. There are people eager to do Good Stuff, and to help each other (and others) for no other reason than that they care about others. I hope I can make other teachers believe this as firmly as I do, to help us increase collaboration and sharing within education.
 
Thanks for a great time. Onto new adventures!
 
//Johan Falk (Itangalo)
 
PS: I won't completely stop doing Drupal. But I will scale back my comittment to only working with things that will be relevant to my teaching, such as the Skill Compass project.

 

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/20/2012 - 17:30

Vidsh , vids i mean! :-)
I know you really and the drupal community at least along on the journey!
Best of luck on your teaching adventure. I hope it will keep you entertained.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 09/18/2012 - 18:05

May your journey include more fantastic tea. Thanks for educating me on Rules and Views Aggregate :D

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 09/18/2012 - 08:48

Bummer to see you go. I always enjoyed your screencasts and learned a lot.
Thank you!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/13/2012 - 15:01

Thanks for all of your great screencasts! They helped me a lot, getting things started with Drupal!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/13/2012 - 13:54

Possibly should have said this before but your videos have been the most engaging of any I have found in the Drupalverse. Thanks.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/13/2012 - 08:08

This is a great loss to the community, but a great gain for the next generation.One could always feel that you have a great passion for teaching. Thank you and good luck!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 09/07/2012 - 08:21

Johan, I'm sure I speak for everyone at Sage Tree Solutions when I say "All the best, and many thanks!" You've been such an amazing contributor to the Drupal ecosystem, and I have personally learned so much from your efforts. I'm sure I'll continue to do so as your library of videos is so plentiful.

I'm sure you'll continue to share what you discover in your teaching, at least with your students. If news leaks outside of your school, know that there will be many interested to hear what you find.

Sincerely,

Burt Lo

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 09/03/2012 - 15:41

Johan, you have been great. Your Drupal ethusiasm and knowledge combination is special. I wish you well and hope you stay part of the community!

Cheers

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 09/03/2012 - 02:58

Good luck with your new adventures Johan and thank you for being a great inspiration

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 09/02/2012 - 14:46

I congratulate you in your next stage of living, learning and doing. Congrats on your move to teaching. I will stay current with your latest website. I have appreciated and used your well-developed free (as in beer) videos that you have graciously shared with the Drupal community. Judging by the video quality and quantity your New Students will be more enriched and knowledgeable for knowing you. I know that I am.

Thank you Thank you Thank you

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 09/01/2012 - 02:11

Best wishes with your new career Johan, and thank you x 1000 for the contribution you've made to the community. The Drupal community will be poorer without you.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/31/2012 - 23:38

May your students appreciate how lucky they are to have you. Best of luck with what comes next, and don't forget to check in with us from time to time.

But actually, you were a teacher the whole time you were doing Drupal, so I don't really understand why you say the two don't fit?

Robert

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/31/2012 - 22:13

Good luck Johan! I am positive you'll be fantastic!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/31/2012 - 22:13

Good luck Johan! I am positive you'll be fantastic!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/31/2012 - 22:12

I hope your teaching journey brings you even more joy an fulfilment than Drupal did. I learned a lot from the video's you made, you are a great teacher and video host. The true Drupal spirit is with you, and you are an inspiration!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/31/2012 - 20:57

Thanks Johan. I'll miss your voice overs! You leave behind a legacy of screencasts.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/31/2012 - 20:34

Thanks Johan for all the amazing stuff you done for Drupal, not at least all the videos helping me and others to "finally" understand how things work.

Good luck in your teaching career and see you around the Drupalverse when you feel the need to pop by.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/31/2012 - 20:29

Words are not enough, I will miss you!

Me and Isabell have a couch waiting for you, if you happen to pass by Doha one day! ;)

Good luck with everything!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/31/2012 - 19:53

Thank you. Your videos have helped me level up as a developer and they've introduced me to the Drupal community. When I'm mentoring a new coder the nodeone learning library is the 1st resource I show them.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/31/2012 - 19:35

I've enjoyed several of your screen casts, thanks for all you've given to Drupal. Good luck!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 08/31/2012 - 19:14

This is a huge lost for the drupal community,
but it is your choice. I hope you'll have lots of fun!

we'll all miss you

Submitted by Thankful Beginner Drupal (not verified) on Thu, 11/08/2012 - 21:00

Johan - Kudos and Thanks. If you ever pass Thailand and need anything let us know!

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