Graphic Design
A bit of history... My parents bought their first computer back in 1995, I was 5 and it was essential to them that I hit the ground running in regards to the future and tech. I remember hearing my dad use photoshop for the first time: The thing that blew his mind, the one feature that made him give up pen and paper was the "undo" button. To him the toolbox on the screen was no different than the toolbox on the drafting table, the only REAL difference was the power to try things and then revert back to the previous state if those things didn't work out. It became a catalyst from great creativity, whereas in the past he would've "stayed put" on a design, "quit while he was ahead" kinda deal, now he could go all out with zero consequence.
Back then all I dabbled with was MS Paint. I remember my mom buying our first printer shortly after the computer purchase and it was so cool seeing my cute little drawings come to life. For me, the one thing that blew my mind was the opaque effect the ink had on paper. I hated using coloring pencils or wax pencils, I was always in my box of crayola markers, frustrated that all I got was some thinly applied pigment that barely covered the paper. Printing gave me that same effect I had in my Belgian comic books (BD or bande-dessinée). I remember attempting to draw basic shapes in Photoshop and being intimidated by the sheer work require to simply do that. I decided it wasn't for me and kept on playing with Paint...
...Until my teen years. My dad had purchased a WACOM computer pen (it blew his mind back then, he has since reverted to using a mouse, but he also went back to pinstriping and watercolors so maybe there's that) and it came with a free copy of Photoshop Elements. That specific version of the software had all the same basic tools, I believe a simpler interface (I'm not sure, but it did pull me in more easily) and ultimately it had alot of effects which you could apply to your work or to pictures. This what really pulled me in, and how I learn and get into most stuff: 1-I dabble around with a cool feature. 2-Learn stuff along the way to better use said feature. 3-Discover other features, learn more stuff to apply those new features and better use them. 4-Rinse and repeat. So I started putting my pictures in, playing with them, then experimented with the software and realized that it had "solved" many of the issues that drove me crazy in paint, like layers. Being able to add text to a picture, then turn around and fix typos or the size or the font at anytime was amazing.
From there my experimenting led to playing around with layers and the various cuting and smudging tools. Soon I was playing around with pictures for some school friends. It was the golden age of MSN messenger so we were sending ourselves pictures all the time and I loved to be able to make something up real quick and then send it back. At that point it was nothing more than a novelty, and party trick. I never seriously considered myself a graphic designer (still don't btw) and nothing more serious came of it, that is until I started dating my wife.
She had dated a real school trained graphic designer for years and had various businesses with him. He was always able to prepare whatver graphics she needed back then. When she looked into hiring professional help the prices were insane. I told her how I used to play around with Elements (I had stopped a few years before when my computer gave up and I could'nt find my free Elements CD!) and how I had been wanting to learn GIMP to make sure I never had to pay for a copy of Photoshop ever in my life.
So began my first foray into commercial graphic design... And the beginning of my at first love/hate but then love/love relationship with GIMP. I've always been one to read the labels on everything, so it was interested to have my perception completly shook when I had to design my own stickers and make sure they looked good on a shelf, and that they remain readable to the end user. A good trick if you are just starting making your own labels or packaging, get yourself an inexpensive printer (I'm a big fan of the Epson Ecotank but whatever you can get cheao) and some cheap printing paper. As soon as you have a good idea of how your label is coming along, don't waste any ready-to-print labels, just print it on a piece of paper then cut it up to size. To have it in your hands will allow you to confirm legeability and perspective (like when your very flat design gets wrapped around a bottle.