Ask HN: How did you get started in hacking/programming?

A second question is: What are some things you wished you knew before you started getting into programming?

I'm just starting, but I guess as a girl who majored in the social sciences, I don't have as many friends interested in computers. A very nice person from the Boston Lisp meet-up tipped me off to Felleisen et al. "How to Design Programs", as well as their paper comparing their text to the standard "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs."