When I was a kid I always enjoyed building things and learning how technologies worked. This was especially true when I discovered the Source Engine through Half-Life 2 and Garry's Mod 9.0.4 at the age of 10. I quickly became immersed in Source SDK and started creating maps for the Source Engine.

If we fast forward to modern day, I basically do the same thing except with code. Like level design, code is a work of art; it tells a story.

0 months into programming I learned the basics of Java and Object Oriented Programming through Oracle's Java Tutorials. To get the most out of my learning, I set off to build a simple musical scale viewer, which would eventually turn into a small scale Swing application.
6 months in I had the knowledge to create an encryption algorithm, convert Swing UI to JavaFX UI, and understand many Object Oriented Programming concepts on a deep level such as Polymorphism. By this time I had also experimented with several other languages such as JavaScript, Lua, C, C++, and Ruby.
12 months in I had successfully created a mobile game using Unity3D and C# that utilized in-app purchases, leaderboards, and achievements. By this time I had experimented with native Android applications. This also marks my transition from simply sitting down and coding to planning things out using UML.
18 months in I enrolled in the Android Developer Nanodegree even though I did not meet the pre-requesite for having 2 years of Java experience. By this time I had experimented with low level concepts using x86 assembler and basic RISC assembler.
24 months in I completed the Android Developer Nanodegree with most projects "exceeding specifications". For my final project I wrote a basic x86 Assembly simulator that teaches programming. At this point I started to transition to using unit testing.

Present day, I still have the mindset to learn something new each and everyday. I aim to create quality software where ever my path takes me.

I learned how to program through a lot of hard work, dedication, research, and simply writing code. Of course, programming isn't all about writing code. However, there really is no secret to how I learned. I discovered I had a passion for software, and I pursued it.

I love coming up with solutions to programming problems. It is truly fascinating to me, and it has changed the way I think about things. Since I started programming, I have considered it an extension of myself. It is an extremely rewarding process.