Intro

Who am I?

Hello, dear reader! First, thank you for being curious enough to click here—I hope you find my journey insightful.

My name is Mark Williams, and while I’m not a computer scientist, I am a nurse with a growing passion for computer science and this is my attempt at documenting my journey as an adult learner diving into CS.

Where I started

This isn’t my first attempt at learning CS. Back in 2014, I started college at the University of Oklahoma with a major in Computer Science. My first course introduced us to drumroll… Java! While Java is a solid and widely-used language (looking at you, Minecraft), it didn’t captivate me as an 18-year-old. We mostly wrote loops without seeing how they could build something meaningful. There was a lack of practical context, which made it hard to stay engaged. I ended up earning a B, lost interest, and switched majors.

That changed in November 2024.

While traveling to Poland with my wife and our five-month-old son (yes, I know, a bit wild), I found myself sitting in the Helsinki Airport (highly recommend—9/10). A random thought struck: “I used to enjoy programming. Why not pick it back up?” So I pulled out my phone and searched the app store. That’s when I discovered Mimo, a Duolingo-style app for learning programming. I started learning Python right there in the airport.

From there, I entered the infamous “tutorial hell”—watching endless Python tutorials without truly learning how to program. Then I found Harvard’s CS50, which gave me a much better understanding of the fundamentals. Unfortunately, with my only free time during my son’s naps, progress was painfully slow. Eventually, I came across boot.dev, and something clicked. I started in February 2025 and have enjoyed every moment since. So, Lane—if you ever read this—thank you for creating such an amazing course!

Where I am at now

This log will serve as my daily progress journal as I continue learning through boot.dev and other resources. Each day, I’ll write a short blurb about what I did and how I felt. At the end of every month, I’ll post a more detailed reflection.

In the words of The Lopen:

“Journey before Pancakes”