disclaimer: I'm 18, self taught, and have been working professionally for several companies and universities(Stanford included) since I was about 12. I'm a Thiel Fellow now(http://20under20.org search "nick")
Find a co-founder and build a product. It doesn't have to be anything world changing, but make it something substantial. Waking up to work on something and seeing daily or weekly progress is incredibly fulfilling, and having someone to work with on a long term project is an experience everyone should have.
Who knows, it might become something. My first project(web app) took a summer of fulltime work, made absolutely no money, but got millions of views, and taught me a ton.
This kind of dedication is also something that colleges love(especially Stanford), if that's one of your ultimate goals.
Find a co-founder and build a product. It doesn't have to be anything world changing, but make it something substantial. Waking up to work on something and seeing daily or weekly progress is incredibly fulfilling, and having someone to work with on a long term project is an experience everyone should have.
Who knows, it might become something. My first project(web app) took a summer of fulltime work, made absolutely no money, but got millions of views, and taught me a ton.
This kind of dedication is also something that colleges love(especially Stanford), if that's one of your ultimate goals.