When I first started programming, it was BASIC, which wasn't a very compelling language. In college, I learned Pascal, which made things more interesting. In professional life, I learned C and thought, "What a horrible language!", then I learned C++ and thought, "This is even worse than C!" Luckily, my thirst for software engineering knowledge led me to the Shlaer-Mellor method early. I wasn't free of 3GL hell, but I knew a better way existed.