When I was younger, Minecraft was the most popular game around, and I was no exception to the craze. My dad had an iPad from work, and I spent hours playing the Pocket Edition version of the game. Although it was fun, it lacked many features from the PC version, which I really wanted to try. When I eventually got a PC, I immediately became hooked on creating things—especially automated systems. While other players were building houses, I was busy trying to automate every possible task using Redstone. Whether it was machines or farms, I loved figuring out how to make things work on their own.

Innotech Labs and My First Coding Experience

In 2016, free coding workshops called Innotech Labs started in my town, led by Konrad Strzelecki. I signed up and really enjoyed the experience. The labs were held every weekend morning, and I found myself waiting the whole week for them. Each session, Konrad brought a big pack of cookies, and we worked on a variety of cool projects. We played with drones, built Lego Mindstorms robots, coded in Scratch, and even started with JavaScript—my first programming language.

The labs continued for a couple of years before they eventually stopped. After they ended, I asked for materials to continue learning on my own, but eventually, I also took a break as I started high school and focused on other things.

Rediscovering Coding

A few years later, I came across a YouTube video that sparked my interest in coding again. The video showed how to send a bee script over WhatsApp using Python, which was exciting for me because it involved automation—something I always enjoyed. I followed the tutorial, downloaded Python, and successfully sent the script to a friend. The fun of making it work led me to explore more with automation.

I searched for more tutorials and found a video about creating a Piano Tiles bot using pyautogui, a Python library for automation. That project opened up a new world for me. I spent a lot of time coding Python scripts for automating tasks, mostly involving screen scanning and desktop apps. I even started exploring APIs and sending requests, which made me realize just how much coding could do.

Finding My Path

In high school, I studied to become an automation technician, but I soon realized that I wasn’t really interested in electronics and physical systems. I knew I wanted to focus on software, so I decided to pursue Computer Science at Maastricht University.

Once I started my university studies, I began learning the fundamentals of programming and computer science in a structured way. While I had played around with coding before, this was where I started learning real concepts. I explored topics like Java, static typing, computer networks, data structures, and much more. Though I haven’t learned everything yet, I’m enjoying the process and feel like I’m building a strong foundation.

Beyond just the coursework, I’ve started working on side projects that allow me to create useful tools and solutions. It's rewarding to see something I’ve built help others, and that drives me to continue learning and improving my skills.