Writing this in June 2015, looking back at my journey so far and getting excited about my last semester. It's crazy how things change when you least expect them to.

My experience until now has been all about desktop applications. I was comfortable in my little bubble of Visual Basic on Windows, creating Java apps locally for desktop environments. No CI/CD, no remote configurations, no worries about production environments.

I used to ask myself: "What's the difference between coding and how this app will behave in production?" Back then, it was simple, you code it, you run it locally, and that's it. My routine was Java, MySQL, Linux, local networks to play Counter-Strike, and UML diagrams. Pretty straightforward.

Then came the challenge: we had to complete our final project (TCC) in a web environment. The funny thing is, our teacher wasn't really adapted to the web boom that happened after Node.js in 2009. So we were basically on our own, trying to figure out this whole web development thing.

During the vacation (December 2014 - January 2015), I decided to take matters into my own hands. I bought and read this book: JavaScript & jQuery: Interactive Front-End Web Development.

And then something magical happened. It all started making sense to me! All those patterns I had been learning during the first and second year - OOP, functional programming, readability, separation of concerns - suddenly transformed into something coherent in my mind. It was like all the pieces of the puzzle finally fit together.

Around the same time, I discovered the Abduzeedo website. This was a game-changer because I found something that combined design and programming at the same time. Until then, everything I had built was using the ugly JOptionPane. But suddenly, I could write code AND build pretty user interfaces!

I fell in love with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. It was like discovering a whole new world. I learned how to create web pages really fast with pure CSS, HTML, and Vanilla JavaScript. I was consuming YouTube tutorials and online resources like crazy, teaching myself everything I could.

When I came back to school, something incredible happened. I went from being one of the worst students to one of the best ones. People started asking me to join their groups for the final project. It was such a confidence boost!

I really hope I can attend to everyone's expectations, especially the teachers who have seen my evolution. It's amazing how much you can grow when you find something that truly excites you.

Looking forward to my last semester with a completely different perspective on programming. Who would have thought that coding inside a browser could be so engaging?

See you.