title: Have a string but would like to format it into a date
body: <p>so I have a script that is pulling data out of our Zendesk(support CRM) installation and it's grabbing a couple of date fields via their REST API. The date fields come out like this: 2018-04-21T21:41:09Z and when I try to format it via Python, I get an error that the field itself is a string and won't accept <code>strptime</code> or <code>strhtime.</code> The exact error is: </p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>AttributeError: 'str' object has no attribute 'strptime'</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>Any idea what I can do to convert this to something that I can reformat with <code>strptime</code> or the like? Python novice who is self-taught, so I'm probably missing something very obvious or basic.</p>