I've always wanted to be a programmer—well, not really. Back then, I didn’t even know what "programmer" meant. I just wanted to create things, like the technology I saw on TV. I thought it would be impossible, something only geniuses or scientists could do. Fast forward, here I am, chasing that dream!

It all started when I was 13. The first time I accessed the internet on a laptop, I began searching for what I could do with this magical thing called “Google” That’s when I stumbled upon a fascinating concept: programming. I didn’t understand much, but it sounded exciting.

During summer holidays, I began searching how computers work. It amazed me how simple technology could be—especially for achieving my childhood dream. As a kid, I was glued to documentaries about robots in Silicon Valley and China. While most kids my age were watching cartoons or Barbie, I was fascinated by machines (I loved Barbie too! I'm not a nerd, okay?🙂)

In the summer of 2019, I discovered HTML5 through a YouTube channel and created my very first webpage. It was just a basic “this is my first page” header, but it felt like magic. I was so proud and told everyone about it, but no one really got it—all they saw was a browser tab with some text.

Still, I pressed on. I experimented with CSS, building colorful layouts, navbars, footers, and grids. Then I dove into JavaScript, jQuery, Bootstrap, and MySQL. I was learning, exploring, and dreaming big.

Then came the pandemic. In my final year of high school, COVID turned everything upside down. After graduating in 2020, I went to nursing school—not because I wanted to, but because studying computer science wasn’t an option in my city. Plus, the CS curriculum in my country was so outdated, I knew I’d have to teach myself anyway.

Working as a nurse during COVID was overwhelming. My plan was to learn programming in the evenings after work, but after 8-to-6 shifts in pure chaos, I barely had any energy left. Still, I pushed through. I completed my residency program, got licensed, and finally quit nursing to focus on programming.

Now, I’ve been teaching myself for a while. I’ve built projects, learned different tools, and tried to improve step by step. But the journey hasn’t been easy.

Being self-taught often feels lonely. You doubt yourself. You feel like you’re constantly catching up. And with the job market so competitive, it’s easy to lose hope. I planned to land a job or internship as a developer by the end of the year, but that hasn’t happened yet—I haven’t even applied. And the pressure is mounting—I’m turning 22 this week, and I need a job.

But I’m not giving up. Software development is what I want, and I haven’t given it my all yet. This is just the beginning of my journey, not the end.

Technology has always been my passion, and I want to be part of shaping the future. Whether it’s building tools that help people, solving unique problems, I know my story is far from over.

If you’ve been through this or are going through something similar, I’d love to hear your story or any advice you might have.