May Reflection 2025

#reflection

Monthly Reflection

I’m almost wrapping up my first month at the Shopify internship. It has been a great experience so far. Like always, I faced some challenges. One of the biggest challenges was working with a very large codebase. Before this, I mostly worked with personal or small projects. Those were much easier to understand and move around in.

I know that many companies have big and complex codebases. This is something new and uncomfortable for me. But I understand that I need to step out of my comfort zone and learn how to work with these larger codebases. One thing that helps is understanding the overall architecture, especially the folder structure. This makes it easier to read, follow, and understand the code.

I read an internal memo from Shopify’s CEO, Tobi Lütke, where he mentioned AI on Twitter. That memo got me thinking more about the role of AI in the workplace. In this era, I believe the most important skill is adaptability. Technology moves quickly, and tools like AI are evolving every day. We can’t always rely on doing things the same way as before. We have to adapt to new tools, learn how to use them well, and figure out how to integrate them into our existing work. Especially as an intern, this mindset is important because I’m still building my habits and learning how to work effectively in a real-world environment.

Being adaptable doesn’t just mean trying new things — it also means being open to rethinking how I solve problems, even if that feels uncomfortable at first. The faster I can adjust, the more I can grow, and the more value I can bring to the people I work with.

I’ve been thinking more about how to use AI in a better way. It’s interesting to see how much the quality of the response depends on how I ask. The more specific and clear my prompt is, the better the answer I get. If I don’t define what I want properly, the AI might give something totally off—it might even make things up. So now, before I ask AI to do something, I try to be clear about what I’m looking for. I think this is a skill I need to keep improving. It’s also a process of refining the prompt again and again, trying to get closer to the result I want. I’m still exploring the best way to work with AI, but it’s exciting to learn along the way.

Useful Links:

Books I’ve Read

The Psychology of Money

  • Aims to help readers make better financial decisions by understanding their own psychology—and avoiding the common pitfalls that derail even the smartest people. It’s less about “what to do” and more about “how to think.”

Functional Python Programming - Second Edition

  • Shows how to use Python’s functional programming features like map/filter, generators, and functools to write cleaner, more maintainable code. Focuses on practical FP techniques - immutability, pure functions, and declarative patterns - while acknowledging Python’s hybrid nature. Less about theory, more about writing better Python.

Thank you!

Thank you for your time and for reading this!