As a teenager I went to a science fair organized by the Communist party (true story and obviously it wasn't in the US). A guy there was explaining how computers works and he took the time to show me BASIC. I wrote my first program that day and found it fascinating. I was enthusiastic about learning more so I asked my Dad for a computer. Said he "Study Math, it's exactly the same".
My next real contact with computers was 15 years later.