min. readA beginning that did not look like a beginning
My name is Jorge Duré. I am from Paraguay, I live in San Lorenzo, I am twenty eight, and I build for the web. I studied Systems Analysis because I liked how things fit together, the diagrams, the order. For a while I thought I would work with networks. Then a friend from school sat next to me and showed me a few lines of code. We ran a tiny program. The screen answered back. It felt small at the time, yet it changed what I paid attention to. From then on I began to think like a programmer, one quiet attempt after another.
A first computer, and the quiet switch from cables to code
I still remember the first computer I touched at school when I was ten. The glow and the sounds made me feel there was a logic hiding behind the mystery. That moment did not seem like a milestone, yet it planted a question that never left me. I wanted to know why the machine did what it did, and how to make it do something new. Curiosity kept showing up, through classes and late nights, through broken projects and small victories when they ran again.
At first that curiosity pointed me toward networks. I liked the rules and the clean diagrams that explained how everything connected. Over time a different pull appeared. A friend and I wrote a tiny program, and the screen responded to something I had created. The conversation changed. Little by little, cables gave way to logic. Configuration screens gave way to behavior. Troubleshooting turned into building. It was not a leap. It was a chain of steps connected by curiosity, each one turning the spark from that first computer into a path that led me to code.
When AI stopped being buzz and became a toolbox
Years later I attended a workshop in Chicago and listened to Alan Mead talk about artificial intelligence. He explained it with clarity and practical use. No noise, only ideas you could try the same week. Inside Abstra I already had people who made complex topics useful, especially Pablo Meyer and Sebastián Rojas. That mix moved AI from a headline to something I could hold. I realized AI can be the first push when an idea feels stuck, the nudge that helps you shape what you cannot yet see.
Since then I have leaned on tools like Copilot and ChatGPT to remove friction and speed up the repetitive parts of web work. I tested Gemini and DeepSeek because I am curious. When a project needs a quick image tweak, I open Microsoft Designer. None of these tools replace learning. They multiply what you practice. They turn curiosity into velocity, and velocity into consistent progress.
Learning in short bursts, building in long arcs
Short, focused windows help me learn best. I took “AI for Developers” with GitHub Copilot, Cursor AI, and ChatGPT on Udemy, and I started “Generative AI for .NET Developers” with Azure AI Services. Six hours here, five hours there, a notebook full of experiments. Each week the code gets a little cleaner. I do not collect certificates. I collect habits. Read a bit, test a bit, write a bit, ask better questions, and keep going.
The place that let me ask better questions
When I arrived at Abstra I had more questions than answers. That was fine. I found patience and a culture that teaches by doing. Code reviews made me better. Routines kept me moving. Mentors stayed close until things clicked. Abstra gave me room to learn from zero and the trust to grow into a professional. Much of who I am today began with that opportunity. It matters to have people who stand next to you while you learn. Difficult things start to feel possible, and effort turns into impact.
If you are starting, here is what helped me
Keep your curiosity alive, even on small days. Read and try. Break tiny things and fix them so you understand why they broke. Ask for help from people who explain with clarity. Study a little every day. Practice more than you plan. You do not need to know everything to begin. You need to begin and keep going, even when the screen says error. Start with what you have. Use AI as a teammate, not a shortcut. Let the work show you what to learn next.
A line I carry with me
What I love about AI is the creativity it generates. Many times it gives you the push to start an idea you could not shape. That sentence sums up how I work now. Clean code, useful products, and AI used with intention. Less noise, more craft. A little better every week.