We always had a computer at home growing up. My dad used it for tracking finances, us kids used it for games. My first program was probably a bunch of print statements on our C64.
Things changed when my dad bought a modem in 93 or so. We had Compuserve but it was expensive. Through Boardwatch magazine I started to try out local BBSes (916). Eventually a few like 24th Street Exchange and this BBS sucks became my online homes. 24th was particularly interesting as it was large (10s of lines), had Fidonet and possible Usenet feeds. Oh and it ran on a BSD. I learned a lot there.
Two key inflection points came:
1) I saw my first demo which made me want to learn to code in 94 (heartquake by iguana ; thanks guys!)
2) around 94-95 I heard about Linux and ended up with a Slackware disc from Walnut Creek.
In 1995 came full internet access with a whole new set of rabbit holes. Usenet, cipherpunks, IRC, etc.
Over times my interest varied as a teenager would. Upon starting college in 98 I had amassed a lot of experience - coding, graphics, graphic design (2d and 3D), web dev, Linux, building computers, etc. At the time I didn’t realize it, but this constant exploration and learning helped me build a huge set of tools that have served me well in my career.
In the end, the biggest lesson? Learn. Follow your curiosity. Roadblocks? find a way around, worst case, spot the dead ends and try again.
Things changed when my dad bought a modem in 93 or so. We had Compuserve but it was expensive. Through Boardwatch magazine I started to try out local BBSes (916). Eventually a few like 24th Street Exchange and this BBS sucks became my online homes. 24th was particularly interesting as it was large (10s of lines), had Fidonet and possible Usenet feeds. Oh and it ran on a BSD. I learned a lot there.
Two key inflection points came:
1) I saw my first demo which made me want to learn to code in 94 (heartquake by iguana ; thanks guys!)
2) around 94-95 I heard about Linux and ended up with a Slackware disc from Walnut Creek.
In 1995 came full internet access with a whole new set of rabbit holes. Usenet, cipherpunks, IRC, etc.
Over times my interest varied as a teenager would. Upon starting college in 98 I had amassed a lot of experience - coding, graphics, graphic design (2d and 3D), web dev, Linux, building computers, etc. At the time I didn’t realize it, but this constant exploration and learning helped me build a huge set of tools that have served me well in my career.
In the end, the biggest lesson? Learn. Follow your curiosity. Roadblocks? find a way around, worst case, spot the dead ends and try again.