I've also been programming since I was about 10. I remember doing some Logo stuff, I recently just found a zip drive with my first program - Tic Tac Toe in logo

I've also been programming since I was about 10. I remember doing some Logo stuff, I recently just found a zip drive with my first program - Tic Tac Toe in logo. I certainly don't remember being encouraged to program until I was at the very least 17 when I was in high school being taught some bullshit 'computer ethics' course by a man with a PhD in Computer Science who just wanted to show people how to code. I guess I'm saying, the encouragement factor for any young programmer is very low, and should be much better. It sounds to me from reading this blog post that it was harder for you, possibly (probably?) because you're a woman. That really sucks, it shouldn't be harder, it should be equally hard for women and men, and it should be getting easier for both all the time. That's why things like Code Club and various online ways of learning programming are so important in my opinion. When programming is put on the curriculum at school, parents are more likely to take it seriously rather than act like my parents who tried to stop me using the computer. I really admire the work of people like @BenNunney who through stuff like Rewired State makes hacking more accessible to young, talented people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4CC45E6TAY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4CC45E6TAY Just my two cents.