I first tried programming in the second grade, not because of my parents but because the school happened to have a "class" in it. I was immediately interested s

I first tried programming in the second grade, not because of my parents but because the school happened to have a "class" in it. I was immediately interested since, for whatever reason, I was better at it than all the other kids in my class. It was like I was the only one who actually understood what was happening. Thinking back now, however, something tells me that if my parents had tried to push me into programming, I might have become less interested in it than I actually did. An important factor when growing up is a sense of discovery -- that you have found something for you -- rather than doing something just because people want you to. Even as a kid, you have a sense that your parents want you to do things not for you but for them to show off to other parents. A smart kid may recognise this conflict of interest.