Why do I want to become a coder?

That’s a damn good question. I’ve been thinking about it non-stop lately and I don’t  have a single specific answer. I have a lot of ideas, some of which may not turn out to be valid. I’m going to put them here and I may edit this over time as I get some clarity.

I think that good decisions have a blend of heart and mind in them. What I mean is that they use some blend of emotion and practicality in order to come to their conclusion.

I like automating things. I like solving problems. I REALLY like when I can do one of those two simply or cleanly. The task of taking a big dumb problem and breaking it down into smaller and smaller solvable problems is fascinating and empowering. My brain thinks in for and if loops. It feels really comfortable to write code that uses those same constructs, and I look forward to being able to keep my mind in that state for longer periods of time.

I’ve been coding recreationally for ages, but it’s always been based on a single specific need. I bang through enough stack overflow questions and eventually I find a solution. If I have no other talent it is persistence. I enjoy that style of coding, but I aspire to be more self-reliant, have a better idea of the fundamentals of coding, and I ultimately want to be able to write simpler code to do more complicated things.