I remember it was 2016.

I started watching Mr. Robot, and out of nowhere it hit me… I used to love computers when I was a kid. Like really love them.

It brought back memories I hadn’t thought about in years.

I remember playing this game Syberia. For some reason, I always thought it was a Russian game. Later I found out it was actually made by a Belgian developer, but growing up in a communist country, my brain just assumed anything like that came from “the other side.” Funny how that works.

I was actually lucky.

Where I grew up, not everyone had access to computers. There was a lot of poverty. But somehow, I had access. My dad was an engineer, and I had a distant cousin studying computer science. I didn’t really understand what they were doing — I was just a kid trying to play games, but I was completely in love with computers.

Growing Up (and Getting Lost)

I grew up, went to school, and graduated with honors.

Not because I was great at math — honestly, I wasn’t — but because I was really good at writing. Poetry, philosophy… and arguing. Especially arguing with teachers.

Some of them were corrupt, trying to sell thesis approvals. It was kind of funny and sad at the same time.

Anyway, I ended up starting computer science.

My dad kept saying:
“Computers are the future. You need to study this.”

But when I got there… I hated it.

Sitting there learning about binary trees and all these abstract concepts felt like garbage to me at the time. I got bored out of my mind.

So I left.

I switched to education.

A Different Path

I went into science education.

It’s one of those careers where you don’t make much money, but it can be rewarding if you really care about teaching and working with kids.

I did it.

But eventually… it burned me out.

Around that time, my dad got cancer and passed away.

And I never told him I had switched majors.

He died thinking I was still studying computer science… probably thinking I was going to become some kind of engineer or scientist. When I was a kid, I was always building things, trying to sell stuff to other kids… I think he believed in that version of me.

I never corrected him.

Back to 2016

So yeah… 2016.

I’m a teacher. Working, doing some research, and honestly… broke.

Watching Mr. Robot and thinking:
“I want to be a hacker.”

I wanted back into tech.

So I started looking at options.

Going back to university didn’t make sense. I had no student loans, and I was honestly scared of getting into big debt.

Then I found this bootcamp in my city.

$13,000.

A lot of money… but not insane compared to going back to university for years.

So I applied.

Passed a simple test.

And just like that, I was in.

Reality Hit Fast

I showed up with zero knowledge.

I didn’t know what coding really was.
Didn’t know what frameworks were.
Didn’t even properly research the difference between cybersecurity and development.

I just knew:
“I want to be a hacker.”

Looking back… yeah, I was young and dumb.

Bootcamp Chaos

The class was small, like 14 people. A few girls, mostly guys.

The language barrier hit me hard.

Everything was in English — especially JavaScript — and that slowed me down a lot. Once I started translating logic into my native language, things got a bit better.

Then came JavaScript.

Right when I was starting to understand it… we jumped into React.

Everything was moving fast as hell.

And the teachers didn’t make it easier.

One of them — super knowledgeable — but honestly felt like a miserable, divorced dude who hated answering questions. Every time you asked something, he looked annoyed. Ask three times? He’d get pissed.

Which is crazy when you’re literally paying to learn.

The second teacher was more chill, but not great at explaining complex stuff either.

So yeah… it felt like survival.

Building Stuff (Kind Of)

By the end, we were building apps in groups.

I wasn’t the strongest coder, but I had ideas.

Two of the apps we worked on were mostly based on ideas I brought in. The team even tried to monetize them later, but nothing really came out of it. Just demos.

Maybe it was just the hype.

But it showed me something:
I’m actually good at coming up with product ideas.

Getting Into Tech

After that, I started going to everything.

Meetups. Demo days. Tech events.

Just trying to get in.

Eventually, I landed my first job as a junior developer.

The Funny Part

At the end of the bootcamp…

I completely forgot why I even started.

I went in wanting to become a hacker.

And came out as a junior developer.

Didn’t even realize it until later.

Looking Back

It’s kind of funny.

I thought I was taking the wrong path.

But maybe I just didn’t understand the path.

Because at the end of the day…

You can’t really “hack” anything if you don’t understand how it’s built.

And I guess…

That’s where my journey actually started.