hi, i'm niels

i'm just a computer science student from the netherlands, creating (mostly open source) things.

a few years ago, i built my first program. it was just a block i could move with w, a, s, d. absolutely nothing fancy, but the feeling of creating something i could actually use was kind of magical. that simple block opened up a whole world for me.

like many people starting out, i got stuck in what they call "tutorial hell" for a while. then, about a year and a half ago, something just clicked. i can't pinpoint the exact moment, but suddenly i realized i hadn't looked at a real tutorial in months. i was just building things on my own.

around the same time, i started having moments where i needed something, but the existing solutions didn't quite fit my needs or were too expensive. so i'd think, "how hard could it be to make my own?" turns out, usually not that hard. the more i created, the more my perspective shifted from consuming to making.

i've always believed that the tech industry is one of the most exciting things in the world. we're living through incredible changes right now. for example, right now the ai revolution is making development more accessible than ever before. what started as a simple text generator is now integrated into almost every piece of software and hardware you can think of.

i'm not a doomer who thinks ai will replace all jobs tomorrow, nor do i think it's all hype. i'm a tech optimist. i believe that all this new technology will leapfrog us in ways we can't imagine right now, and most importantly, it's making 'creation' accessible to more people than ever.

and that’s what really gets me excited: the human ability to create. this unique ability is becoming amplified by all these new tools, allowing for even more, even better ideas and creations.

creating your own things is one of the coolest things we can do as humans. whether it's software, hardware, something made out of wood, knitting a doll, or writing a story - we have this unique curiosity and drive to make something from nothing.

that's why my philosophy is simple: "creating > consuming."

instead of just using expensive solutions that don't quite fit, why not build your own? instead of waiting for someone else to create what you need, why not be the one to bring it into existence? that moment when you realize something you want doesn't exist yet - that's not a problem, that's an opportunity.

this is why, at the time of writing, i'm planning on starting a company with a good friend of mine. i won't spoil any surprises, but we're going to create some cool things. and someday, i hope to share what i've learned through blogs, talks, and by helping other students who are where i was just a few years ago.

my absolute goal in life is to enable people so they can give their all and create what they want. because i truly believe that you - yes, you reading this - have something unique to contribute to the world.

the question isn't whether you're capable of creating something amazing. the question is..

what are you going to build?