I think you are forgetting what it is like to first learn how to program. For me and many of my friends the programming class was something you did so you coul

I think you are forgetting what it is like to first learn how to program. For me and many of my friends the programming class was something you did so you could make games! If you finished your assignment early you didn't make yet another linked list class or implement a shortest path algorithm, you made anything graphical even if at that skill level meant a "full screen" text based tic-tac-toe. Granted the stuff you made was nothing like the 3D shooter you played in the evening, but it was something _you_ made that made it really cool. JavaScript works really really well in that regard in that you can easily make stuff appear on the screen with very little effort with html (and move onto canvas / webgl) and they don't look half bad. Unlike other programing languages graphics are "built in". Python is great, but compare drawing on the screen in C++/Python/Java v.s. JavaScript and you get my point. As a first language it is a perfect choice as it is something you can get excited about.