I Fell in Love With Programming Long Before I Learned It
"A robot?" — Jesse Pinkman
(That line stayed with me. A mix of surprise, naïveté, and wonder. Exactly the feeling I had as a kid seeing my first robot, and years later, my first real piece of code.)
Before diving in, a quick note.
This is not a tutorial. It is a story about where programming begins, not in code but in curiosity and small sparks that follow us across the years.
When Programming Looked Impossible (To a Kid From the 80s)
When I enrolled in computer science, I did not really know what it was. Not precisely.
I thought I would become the guy who tells people: “Have you tried restarting your computer?”
For someone born in the 80s, programming looked like a closed world: nerds in a windo…
I Fell in Love With Programming Long Before I Learned It
"A robot?" — Jesse Pinkman
(That line stayed with me. A mix of surprise, naïveté, and wonder. Exactly the feeling I had as a kid seeing my first robot, and years later, my first real piece of code.)
Before diving in, a quick note.
This is not a tutorial. It is a story about where programming begins, not in code but in curiosity and small sparks that follow us across the years.
When Programming Looked Impossible (To a Kid From the 80s)
When I enrolled in computer science, I did not really know what it was. Not precisely.
I thought I would become the guy who tells people: “Have you tried restarting your computer?”
For someone born in the 80s, programming looked like a closed world: nerds in a windowless room, speaking an incomprehensible language. Almost unreachable.
During the first weeks of the program, they gave us a choice between development and infrastructure. One day, they had us try low-code with simple drag and drop logic. The moment I touched it, a childhood memory resurfaced.
The Childhood Toy That Changed Everything
I must have been around eight when I bought my first Capsela toy. Those little capsules snapped together to build cars, boats, anything my imagination suggested. Each module had a role: motor, gear, wheels, floats. I saved every dollar to buy a new one.
Then one day, I got the ultimate set: the Capsela 2000. A robot you assembled yourself with lights, sounds, and simple movements. Unlike the others, it came with a small controller that let you program its actions. I programmed it, pressed “Play,” and watched it go.
It was the first time I touched something that reacted to my instructions.
A thing that did exactly what I imagined.
I think that is when something imprinted itself in me. The idea that you can make the world move by giving it sequences, logic, and a plan.
I found that same feeling years later in programming. Telling a computer what to do. Creating anything I wanted, without buying parts or building anything physically.
In that moment, something simply aligned. Not a revelation, but a quiet recognition. As if that robot had been an early initiation to logic and creation. A simple way of telling the world “do this,” and the world obeyed.
When My First Line of Code Felt Familiar
Years later, looking at my first real line of code, I felt the same sensation.
The same inner mechanism.
The same quiet joy whispering: “I know this.”
As if the kid I used to be was giving me a nod from across the years.
It stayed. My way of approaching programming never changed. Idea first, tools second. Always. Start with the result, then figure out how to reach it.
Why I Still Love Programming Today
Despite the years, despite the technologies that come and go, the same thing still moves me. Seeing an idea take shape, leave my head, and exist for real.
Something shifts in the world simply because I imagined it.
That is what made me fall in love with programming long before I learned it.
First in front of a plastic robot.
Then in front of a line of code that did exactly what I asked for.
Yes, science.
If This Resonates With You
If you have a moment where programming “clicked” for you, feel free to share it. I genuinely enjoy reading how others discovered this field.