the story

How I became a
developer

A chronological log of every milestone — The whole journey.

origindiscoveryfirst-codeschoolchallengeachievementwork
1998origin
Born in Lorena, Brazil

I was born in Lorena, a small city in São Paulo surrounded by rural areas, small churches and streets where bicycles were part of everyday life.

BrazilLorenaOrigins
2001origin
A New Beginning in São José dos Campos

After living with my grandparents, I moved to São José dos Campos to live with my parents. The larger city introduced me to a very different environment.

São José dos CamposChangeChildhood
2008discovery
My First Regular Contact with Computers

I began using computers regularly to play online games with friends. Curiosity gradually turned the computer from a source of entertainment into something to explore.

ComputersCuriosityTechnology
2010discovery
From Consumer to Creator

I became fascinated by creating things digitally, experimenting with video editing, electronic music production and stick-figure animations.

Video EditingMusic ProductionAnimation
2010school
Moving to Jacareí

I moved to Jacareí, where I would later attend high school and begin the technical education that transformed my curiosity into a career direction.

JacareíChangeEducation
2013school
Choosing Computing

As part of my high-school curriculum, I chose a technical course in Informática. This was my first opportunity to study computing in a structured environment.

InformáticaTechnical EducationComputing
2013first-code
My First Line of Code

I wrote my first programs in C, beginning with Hello World before progressing to calculations, conditions and loops—even writing code on paper during exams.

CProgramming FundamentalsProblem Solving
2013–2016achievement
Discovering the Joy of Problem Solving

Programming competitions showed me how satisfying it was to overcome difficult problems with a team. Those experiences helped confirm that software was my path.

Programming MarathonsTeamworkProblem Solving
2016achievement
First Place at INIC Junior

My team built a C++ and MySQL project that plotted and compared simulated brain activity in healthy brains and brains affected by microcephaly.

C++MySQLData VisualisationINIC Junior
2018challenge
Moving from Brazil to the UK

I moved to the UK with my family in January 2018. Without a university qualification or experience in the UK system, entering software proved difficult.

United KingdomMigrationNew Beginning
2018–2024work
Taking the Long Route

I worked across retail, warehouses and cafés. These roles strengthened my communication, organisation, prioritisation and resilience while I pursued a route back to technology.

ResilienceCommunicationAdaptability
2018–2024challenge
Learning JavaScript

I studied JavaScript through online courses while commuting to work, often watching lessons on the bus at 6 AM. Progress was slow, but I refused to abandon my goal.

JavaScriptSelf-LearningPersistence
2018–2024challenge
Investing in My Education

I used money earned from warehouse work to complete a college course, improving my chances of entering university despite not attending school in the UK.

EducationSacrificeUniversity Preparation
2024achievement
Graduating in Computer Science

I completed my Computer Science degree, gaining the qualification I needed to compete for development roles and turn years of independent learning into a profession.

Computer ScienceUniversityGraduation
2025work
Becoming a Full-Stack Developer

In April 2025, I joined Cloudfy as a full-stack developer, working professionally with C#, Next.js, TypeScript and SQL Server.

CloudfyC#Next.jsTypeScriptSQL Server
2025–Presentnow
Building an Integration Platform

I work across the frontend and backend of a node-based platform that builds workflows for extracting and integrating business data with Cloudfy's integration API.

Full StackIntegrationWorkflowsAPIs
Presentnow
Proof That the Path Can Bend

My journey was never a straight line, but every move, setback and unexpected turn taught me to keep going. Progress may take time, but persistence can turn even a distant dream into reality.

PersistenceGrowthFull-Stack Developer
// terminal
luantavares@dev:~$ echo "story not finished yet"
story not finished yet
luantavares@dev:~$