How I Got Into Programming

Today I want to talk about how I got into programming: a story that took several years to actually stick, with a few false starts along the way. To tell it right, I need to go back to the very beginning, the year 2001.

That year, my grandfather had just bought a personal computer. I wish I remembered the exact model and specs, but honestly, I never even knew what they were, all I remember is that it was all white 😅. I was 7 or 8 years old at the time, and it was my first contact with a computer ever. And what's the first thing a 7-year-old does when they "discover" a computer? Look for games, obviously.

Not long after, I think that same year or the next, my dad bought a computer for our house. That one came with an Expert CD-ROM packed with 600 games, and that was a whole different world for me. I'd spend hours playing those simple little games, but to me it was a brand new universe. I also found some websites with games like Humortadela and Fliperama, plus the legendary Cartoon Network site, which had a ton of great games. That's how it all started for me with computers and the internet: playing.

The years went by, and I kept doing my thing on the computer, mostly playing games. It wasn't until 2009 that I first heard the word "programming." I was playing an online game and wanted to build a site for it, kind of a fan site. I started looking into how to do that, but back then there weren't the kind of complete, well-organized resources you find today for building a website. Even so, I remember starting to study C++ (yes, I know that has nothing to do with building a website, but I had no idea at the time), putting together a few really basic programs by following tutorials online. I liked what I saw, it was the first time I'd used a computer to create something of my own, instead of just consuming things other people had made. I didn't even know you could actually work in that field; it was something I'd never heard of before then. After a few days of practicing, I dropped it, I just didn't see the point.

The following year, in 2010, I enrolled in a "Webmaster" course. I enjoyed it, I was already able to put together simple pages using HTML in Notepad. Yeah, no IDE, honestly, I'm not even sure they existed back then. I'd write the site in HTML in Notepad, save it as .html, and open the local file: there was my page. Unfortunately, I didn't stick with that one either, I think it was mostly a lack of understanding, not really grasping the bigger picture, and also not knowing whether I'd ever actually use that knowledge. I was taking it because I liked messing around with computers, not because I knew you could build a career out of it.

In 2013 I started working at a drugstore, and I liked it a lot. Even there, whenever some "IT" problem came up, I was usually the one who fixed it. I always had a knack for that stuff most people found confusing. But during that time I didn't do anything related to the field, I just focused on my job.

In 2018 I wanted to get back into it. By then I already knew it was possible to build a career out of this, but I honestly had no idea how, my city doesn't have many openings in this field even today, in 2026, let alone back in 2018. There just weren't any. Still, I bought 2 courses on Udemy, one on web development, one on Android development. And guess what? Once again, I didn't follow through. I took plenty of lessons, but I lacked clarity, I didn't know if I'd ever actually use any of it or if I was just wasting my time.

It wasn't until 2022 that I got back into studying programming, this time for real. With the tech "boom," tons of job openings, and most of them remote because of the pandemic, I finally saw an opportunity I hadn't seen before. I think that was the missing piece that pushed me to keep studying something I'd always loved. That's when I dropped out of my Business Administration degree (yeah, I made it through 3 semesters of that) to start a degree in Systems Analysis and Development, while studying web development technologies on my own in parallel.

At first I felt a bit lost, I didn't know where to focus, there were so many options: back-end, front-end, so many languages to pick from, PHP, Java, JavaScript, Ruby... Then, after watching a few lessons and building my first landing page, everything clicked. I spent 5 days watching tutorials and building my first landing page with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It was incredibly rewarding, and I loved every bit of that learning process. Unlike every time before, this time I didn't quit: I'd get home from work and go straight to the computer to keep building.

Looking back, after so many failed attempts, finally rediscovering that path I'd left behind was a turning point in my life. Since that day, I haven't stopped studying and building new things. I genuinely love this field. I still feel like there's so much left to learn, so much new to discover, and that just makes me even more excited.

This story isn't about someone who discovered early on what they wanted to do with their life. It’s about someone who needed a few years to realize that what they enjoyed doing most on the computer could also become a career. And looking back, I don’t think it would have turned out the same way if the path had been shorter.