Part 1: My Journey Into Tech

Oluwaseun Atanda — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 09:15:07 +0000

My first real interaction with a computer was with my uncle’s dusty old box monitor, tucked away under a table. It was meant for graphic design work in his screen-printing business, but it mostly sat unused. At the time, I had no real hands-on experience or interaction about computer than just a few theoretical computer science classes from junior school.

One day, curiosity got the better of me. I pulled out the PC, hooked it up, and fired it on.

That spark quickly became a habit. I started visiting a local graphic designer in the neighborhood, asking endless questions about CorelDRAW. Within a year, I was designing simple artworks for my uncle and even reigniting his interest. Before long, I was teaching him a few tricks of his own.

I spent hours in cyber cafes, browsing tech forums and reading anything I could about computers. One day, I watched another uncle, fresh from a mathematics degree, type what looked like random characters to build a simple car racing game. I begged him to teach me, but his response stung: “Programming isn’t something you can learn easily.”

That wasn’t the last time I’d hear that.

Even as I applied for university, no one explained that Computer Science could be a doorway into programming. Without a computer at home and without a clear path to learn, I felt stuck overflowing with passion but with nowhere to aim it.

DEV Community: Oluwaseun Atanda

Part 1: My Journey Into Tech