When I was very young, my father was a teacher, and he had an old computer in his office. I was fascinated by it. Whenever he wasn’t around, I’d sneak in and play with it-clicking around, exploring, not really knowing what I was doing.

More than once, I ended up breaking something. The computer would stop working, and my dad had to take it to the repair shop over and over again. Instead of scolding me too harshly, he let me keep exploring. I think that’s when my curiosity about technology really took root.

Looking back, those early “accidents” were the start of something much bigger.

Inspired by Hackers On Screen

As I got a little older, I became obsessed with hacker characters in movies and shows. The way they typed furiously on the keyboard, cracked systems in seconds, and looked effortlessly cool. It all seemed so powerful and exciting.

Of course, real-life hacking isn’t like what you see in the movies, but that fantasy sparked a desire in me to understand how computers work. I didn’t just want to use technology. I wanted to create it, control it, maybe even bend it to my will, like those characters did.

Growing Up With Limitations

But here’s the truth: things weren’t easy.

My family was very poor. I grew up in a small town where opportunities were few and far between. There was no internet connection, no computer school, and not even a bookstore even if I somehow had the money to afford one.

Let’s just say, the goal felt completely out of reach-for now.

A Turning Point: 2015

Fast forward a few years. The year is 2015.

In my country, something big was happening. The resounding victory of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy in the general elections gave people a sense of hope…hope for a better future, for freedom, for opportunity. For the first time in a long time, things felt like they could change.

And they did.

Suddenly, mobile phones became accessible to everyone. Almost overnight, people who had never even held a smartphone now carried one in their pocket. The internet was still painfully expensive atlest for me, but it was there. And for the first time in my life, so was possibility.

That’s when I got my first Android phone. It wasn’t fancy. It was slow, it lagged, and it didn’t have much storage. But I loved it. I explored every setting, installed every free app I could find, and tried to understand how it all worked.

I remember holding that phone and thinking to myself: “One day, I’m going to build my own Android apps.”

That simple sentence became a promise I made to myself. And even though I had no idea how I’d get there…I knew I would.

The Beginning

In 2017, I started college as a freshman. It was a new chapter in my life. But not just academically. That year, my father gave me his laptop so that my sister and I could share it. It wasn’t powerful, and we had to take turns using it, but to me, it was like being handed a key to a new world.

The biggest challenge was still the internet. YouTube was out of the question—data was way too expensive. So instead of watching video tutorials like most people, I had to rely on Google. And since English isn’t my first language, every search, every sentence, every documentation page was a struggle. But I didn’t give up.

One day, I came across a website that explained how to build Android apps using an IDE called Android Studio. I didn’t know much about it, but I knew this was what I had been looking for.

So I called my father. I told him I needed just a little money, enough to buy 2GB of data so I could download Android Studio. Without hesitation, he sent it to me.

That night, I stayed up downloading it because the internet only worked well at night. And it took 5 or 6 hours to finish I watched the progress bar slowly crawl forward. And when it finally finished, I sat there looking at the installation screen with so much excitement, I could barely believe it.

That was the night everything truly began.

My First App

I still remember the very first app I built-a flashlight app. My laptop was slow, but I didn’t care. I followed every step of the tutorial, testing and learning along the way.

When I finished it, I sent the app to my father. He installed it on his phone and—this part still warms my heart-he kept it there for seven years. He never uninstalled it. That meant everything to me.

Building My First Real App

After that, I kept learning and experimenting. The first real app I built from scratch was a hymnal book. It was terrible but it was mine. Publishing it to the Play Store was a huge milestone. Seeing it live gave me a deep sense of accomplishment. It made everything feel real.

My First Freelance Job

In 2021, during the COVID pandemic, I saw a post on Facebook looking for a mobile developer. I applied. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was my first paid Android project.

That job taught me so much—how to deal with clients, fix bugs under pressure, and deliver updates. Most importantly, it gave me confidence.

Where I Am Today

Now, I work full-time as a Senior Android Developer at a mobile app company. I get to do what I love every day-building, and improving Android apps.

From sneaking into my dad’s office to sharing a slow laptop in college… from building a flashlight app to solving real-world problems for clients and users. This journey hasn’t been easy, but it’s been worth every moment.