Congratulations on being awesome, 19 year old dude. You're at the perfect age to start and your attitude is dead on. My advice is that school is good for lots

Congratulations on being awesome, 19 year old dude. You're at the perfect age to start and your attitude is dead on. My advice is that school is good for lots of things but project experience is not one of them. Please, go sign up at GitHub and make it your new home. It's like Facebook for open source development. Start checking out cool projects (it doesn't matter what language, they are all the same - that's the punchline) and learn to read other people's code. Pretty soon you'll find opportunities to contribute. You know the easiest way to contribute? Leave positive and encouraging messages thanking developers for their hard work and let them know you're following along. Next advice: stop reading blogs and spend that time practicing coding. Blogs are interesting but you'll find that your memory retention is less than 10%. Try to limit yourself to checking HN twice a day and otherwise, focus on the task at hand. Final advice: make sure that you have a life. The best coders are interesting people with diverse interests. Develop an appreciation of music and try to expand your artistic whims. Get a camera, travel, read fiction, take pictures, travel more, write fiction. Take chances. Get the guy. Get the girl. Get both at the same time. Don't be afraid and always try to listen twice as often as you speak.