That's what I did. I started with a really small BASIC for learning, after a bit I started messing with bash (my father used Linux, so I used Linux), and made

That's what I did. I started with a really small BASIC for learning, after a bit I started messing with bash (my father used Linux, so I used Linux), and made some godawful scripts. I was around 11 at that point, so most of my work was in a "choose your own adventure" text game where I also experimented with making a UI in the terminal with text. Then when I couldn't get it to run fast enough, started messing with C which I heard was faster, then picked up Java because I wanted to make a real UI (not a single one of the books on programming talked about any ways of getting a UI with C or C++), and from there to web languages because I wanted to build a website, and that launched my career. Each step I hit a wall and struggled on my own for a while, and I think that was the most important part. I needed a solution, and that drove my will to learn. My dad only ever stepped in when I specifically asked, and even then he'd only get me a book/resource or give me some hints or very light help.