I've been stewing over a blog post for several months, unsure of how to accurately portray my journey so far in learning to program in a way that would help others understand how incredibly life-changing this activity can be.

In addition to "learn, learn, learn", my goal for the next few years is to drag more of a spotlight over to programming and do my best to make sure people know 1) why programmers are so freakin' special and 2) that anybody can do this.

It's posted in 3 parts:

Part 1 is just my story, you can skip it if you'd like. It may accidentally contain hidden signposts for others to perhaps follow, but it's just that: my story.

Part 2 is like 15 condensed blog posts I've been meaning to write with a few of the lessons I've picked up in learning to program and just trying to be observant about the culture and attitudes of those I work with.

Part 3 is how new people can get started, and why they probably should.