The beginning

I was reading an essay by Paul Graham the other day and one line in it stood out to me –

Few people know so early or so certainly what they want to work on.

This got me thinking about what got me interested in programming and computer science when I was growing up.

As I kid I was always interested in computers and I remember reading Digit cover to cover each month. My first foray into programming was when my mother enrolled me in a class to learn basic C and C++. I rebelled initially, before even attending a single session of the class – “I don’t want to learn programming! That’s not cool at all.” I decided to attend at least one session though as I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. And I’m so glad I did that.

I think the phrase “love at first sight” accurately describes what I felt upon looking at my first program (a simple “Hello, World!” in C if my memory serves me right). The feeling was incredible and I knew almost right away that I had found my calling in life.

Thanks mom.