There are other paths. In my case, I had no access to software from other people, but the library had tons of old books for programming all kinds of computers

There are other paths. In my case, I had no access to software from other people, but the library had tons of old books for programming all kinds of computers in mistly basic. So first I learned translating commodore etc to gwbasic. The peek and poke gave a trapdoor to assembly, which granted e.g. mouse access. After I managed to install gwbasic as a TSR, I realized I basically had hollowed out the interpretrr, and started writing straight in debug.com. It took 3 years before I discovered MIX C in a dusty corner of a bookshop. It cost a fortune for this kid, and frequently miscompiled things, but it was one of the first pieces of software I got that didn't come with the computer.