>Hey, folks. I wrote an essay about how I got into software development. My contribution to #DiversityInSTEM.
>
>https://medium.com/@TamarEGranor/from-patterns-and-puzzles-to-programming-60ac6ae46c73#.j7fql26ff

Knuth is right, and what Bill says also matches my experience "this is fun and I also get paid for it". And my story, at least in the early stages, matches yours. Recounting my childhood now, I can remember a dozen very diverse things I was doing (playing accordion at age 8 to 10; learning english at age 11, fiddling with photography since 12 and making movies until college age). Most of the time I was mostly trying to figure out how things work and then use this knowledge to do something interesting with it.

At some point in high school I got my hands on Harry Harrison's "Stainless steel rat", and I loved the scene when Jim hacks someone's computers (by tearing out motherboards and fiddling with wires, though). I immediately imagined myself being such a master of arcane knowledge when I grow up. Many times later, I would still remember that wish and actually had to remind myself that I have been there, done that already. It's what I'm doing daily, in a way.