The Worth of Self

Understanding the Identity of Self (Ruby)

As time and environments changes, the true essence of self continues to change and evolve. This is because of the adaptability of human nature to adjust to all experiences in our lives. When we were children, we thought as children but when we grew up, so did our thoughts and minds. Yet, its so amazing how we have become capable to change our whole persona based on where we are.

Question: Do you act the same way around at work as you act around your best friend?

Do you dance at work as you do at a party?

Do you love your boss as hard as you love the love of your life?

Why?

Studies have shown that human nature has a tendency of wanting to be understood and accepted. Understanding that at a party, we will bring our best self for that environment while at work, we bring our best self for that environment. Yet it’s all still SELF. This is the start of understanding Self in Ruby.

You my friends are SELF.

The Environment is Class, Method or where ever self is located. Yet Self also adjusts and adapts.

Can you see it yet? Let me elaborate. There can be only one you. Your worth is invaluable and precious. When you enter the family, there is no other you in that family. So your identity is unique, personality different but still family. In a nuclear family, most people in that household has the same last name. So the identity that people would connect you to in a community is to the identity of the family of your last name. In a Class Method, SELF is your last name.

SELF in a Class Method is the CLASS.

It functions like the class too.

Life’s funny… Do you remember when I told you you are precious and invaluable? That’s because its true but location has a way of not acknowledging how important you really are.

Example: Do you think water is important when you get some in a dry desert?

Do you think its just as important as when you get some in a pool?

Location is a key component of understanding SELF.

As stated before, when SELF is located in a Class Method, its borrows the privileges of the class. When its located in a instance method, self is the identity of the instance in that method.

What is instance? Think of instance as a moment in your memory of a story you have or the moment you walk into a store. SELF is you. The object of everyone’s attention and the spot of the limelight. Life is funny in a sense that we missed moments, like a job opportunity “I should of said this, I should of said that” or the time you didn’t kiss the girl. And in one moment, its gone.

In a instance method, SELF is your moment.

SELF also extends to characteristics of its self. For self methods, it also show or gives an idea of what each class method does.

Eg. self.all

This method shows all the instances entered in to the database. Its like automatic generated list of students that entered has entered a school on any given day. Self.all sees it all as long as it is in that class. Self.all will not give you a list of another class.

Self.count

Another method that also hints to the user on what it does. This method counts the data base.

The concept of what I’m getting at is that the inventor of what I’m getting at is that you should be happy with you. In your joy, in your worth, in your peace is where your best ideas come from. I’m not saying you don’t have hard days, but you can use them to inspire the next dream or the next goal.

Yukihiro Matsumoto made ruby for programmers to be happy.

That’s it.

If he can understand his worth and joy and create this, I believe that we have that same worth too.

You are unique.

I also believe that self is one of the best things he ever create because self lives in the moment.

So seize your moment, your best SELF is yet to come