At 18 years old, Jack Waechter has built his own compiled programming language, plays guitar in a black metal band, and is learning to live with schizophrenia. He's been programming since he was 12, and he's only getting started.
Most 18-year-olds aren't spending their free time writing compilers, building programming languages, or figuring out how to generate machine code.
But Jack Waechter, a young programmer from Chesterton, Indiana, has spent the last several years doing exactly that.
He's the creator of Sere, a programming language that combines Python-inspired syntax with native compilation through LLVM. It has its own compiler, runtime, type system, and an extensive standard library.
He's also a black metal musician, a guitarist, and someone who has spent a significant part of his teenage years struggling with schizophrenia.
Jack was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and has been undergoing treatment, with positive results.
His life hasn't exactly been straightforward, but through everything, programming and music have remained two of his biggest passions.
It started with Python at 12
Jack began teaching himself programming when he was 12 years old.
Like a lot of people getting into programming, he started with Python. He learned by reading documentation, experimenting with code, and building things simply because he was curious about how they worked.
But he eventually became more interested in the tools behind programming than just the programs themselves.
He wanted to know how a computer understood code in the first place.
How does a programming language work? How does a compiler turn text into executable instructions? Could he write one himself?
By the time he was 14, he had written his first compiler.
It wasn't the end of his interest in language development. It was really just the beginning.
Over the following years, Jack continued studying compiler architecture, programming language design, and low-level systems programming.
Eventually, he decided to create something much more ambitious: a programming language that people could actually install and use.
That project became Sere.
Sere: Python-like syntax, native compilation
Sere is a statically typed, compiled programming language written in C++ and powered by LLVM.
The idea behind it is relatively simple. Jack wanted a language that was pleasant to write, like Python, but with the performance and low-level capabilities associated with compiled languages.
For example, a basic Sere program looks like this:
def greet(name: str) -> void:
print(f"Hello, {name}!")
def main() -> i32:
greet("World")
return 0
Anyone familiar with Python will recognize the syntax.
But unlike Python, Sere compiles programs into native machine code rather than running them through an interpreter.
It has static typing, type inference, classes, pointers, asynchronous programming support, and its own compilation infrastructure.
One of the more interesting parts of Sere is its standard library.
Jack has been building it largely around the things he personally wants from a programming language. That includes OpenGL bindings for graphics programming, custom audio libraries, multiprocessing, matrix mathematics, and many other modules.
He has also implemented a project system and a library format called .slib, allowing developers to package and reuse Sere code.
And this isn't just a language that exists as a collection of unfinished source files.
Sere can be downloaded, installed, and used to build actual programs.
Of course, it's still an independently developed language. There are bugs, unfinished features, and plenty of improvements that need to be made.
But Jack is actively developing it, and the source code is publicly available.
Website: https://sere-lang.com
GitHub: https://github.com/Sere-Language/sere
Programming while struggling with schizophrenia
There's another part of Jack's life that he's been open about.
He struggles with schizophrenia.
He was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, and his mental health has been a significant challenge throughout his teenage years.
Schizophrenia can affect almost every aspect of a person's life. For Jack, dealing with his symptoms while trying to maintain his interests, work on projects, and enjoy everyday life hasn't always been easy.
Some days are harder than others.
Programming itself can require hours of concentration, patience, and problem-solving. Compiler development is especially demanding, since even a small mistake can lead to complicated bugs that take hours to track down.
Trying to manage a serious mental illness alongside that kind of work comes with its own difficulties.
But Jack hasn't stopped doing what he enjoys.
He's continued developing Sere, experimenting with new projects, and spending time making music.
He's also been receiving psychiatric treatment and has been experiencing positive outcomes.
Things have been improving, even if there are still challenges.
And while his programming accomplishments are impressive, they're not what makes his experience with schizophrenia worth talking about.
What matters is that he's continuing to find things he enjoys and wants to pursue, even while dealing with an illness that can make ordinary life difficult.
Schizophrenia carries a lot of stigma. People often make assumptions about someone's intelligence, personality, or future as soon as they hear the diagnosis.
Jack's life is a good example of why those assumptions don't tell the whole story.
He's a programmer. He's a musician. He's someone who likes building things and learning how they work.
Schizophrenia is part of his life, but it isn't his entire identity.
When he's not programming, he's playing black metal
Jack's interests go well beyond computers.
He's a guitarist in Vesperá, a black metal band, and he's also a big fan of hardcore punk.
It's an interesting contrast. One day he might be working through a difficult compiler bug, and the next he's playing guitar or working on music.
But both are things he genuinely enjoys.
Music gives him another creative outlet, something completely separate from writing software.
And in a way, the two hobbies have quite a bit in common. Both involve experimenting, learning techniques, developing your own style, and spending a ridiculous amount of time getting small details right.
Jack isn't just interested in programming because it's a potential career.
He likes creating things.
Whether that's a new feature in Sere, a piece of software, or music with his band, the process of making something is a big part of what keeps him interested.
He livestreams his development
Jack also runs a YouTube channel called CompilerMan, where he livestreams his programming and development work.
People can watch him work on Sere, implement features, fix bugs, and experiment with different parts of the language.
And like any real programming project, things don't always go according to plan.
Compiler development can be frustrating. A seemingly simple feature might require changes across several different parts of the compiler. Fixing one bug can introduce another.
Sometimes an entire development session gets spent trying to understand why something that should work simply doesn't.
But that's what makes watching the development process interesting.
Instead of only showing polished releases, Jack shares the actual work involved in building a programming language.
For people interested in compilers, programming languages, or systems programming, it's a chance to see someone actively working on a project like this.
His channel can be found here:
There's more to someone than their diagnosis
One of the reasons Jack's story is worth sharing is that schizophrenia is still widely misunderstood.
When people hear the word, they often think of the worst possible examples they've seen in movies or on television.
They don't necessarily picture an 18-year-old sitting at his computer, debugging LLVM code, writing a graphics library, or playing black metal guitar.
But people with schizophrenia have hobbies, interests, personalities, ambitions, and lives outside of their illness.
Jack's no different.
He's had to deal with some difficult experiences, and his mental health remains something he has to take seriously.
But he's also spent years learning a difficult area of computer science and turning that knowledge into something other people can use.
That doesn't mean everyone with schizophrenia should be expected to accomplish something extraordinary.
Nobody should have to prove their worth through productivity or achievements.
Sometimes simply making it through a difficult period and finding the right treatment is a major accomplishment on its own.
For Jack, improving his mental health and continuing to work on the things he loves have both been important parts of moving forward.
His diagnosis hasn't erased his curiosity or his interest in creating things.
And as his treatment continues to help, he's looking toward the future.
What's next for Jack and Sere?
Sere is still being actively developed.
Jack continues to expand its standard library, improve the compiler, work on performance, and add features that make the language more practical for everyday development.
There's no telling exactly where the project will end up.
Maybe Sere will eventually attract a larger community of developers. Maybe it'll remain a smaller independent language with a dedicated group of users.
Either way, Jack has already learned an enormous amount from building it.
And at 18, he has plenty of time to keep learning.
Six years ago, he was a 12-year-old teaching himself Python.
Two years later, he had written his first compiler.
Now he has his own programming language, a public GitHub repository, and people who can actually download and use what he's created.
At the same time, he's continuing to work on his mental health, play music, and figure out what he wants to do with his life.
His story isn't about overcoming schizophrenia through programming. It's about someone who happens to have schizophrenia and still has things he loves doing.
For anyone who's struggling with their own mental health, that's something worth remembering.
Having a serious illness doesn't mean your future is already decided. It doesn't mean you can't learn something new, pursue a hobby, or work toward something you care about.
Progress might be slow. There might be setbacks. Some days, taking care of yourself needs to come before everything else.
But improvement is possible, and there's still a lot of life to experience.
Jack's still figuring things out himself.
For now, he's going to keep writing code, making music, and working on Sere.
And considering how much he's already done at 18, it'll be interesting to see where he takes it next.
Follow Jack's work
If you're interested in Sere, compiler development, or just want to see what Jack is working on, you can find his projects here:
- Sere website: https://sere-lang.com
- Sere GitHub: https://github.com/Sere-Language/sere
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@compilerman2254/videos
- Vesperá: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Vesper%C3%A1/3540543795
Sere is open source, and developers are welcome to explore the code, try the language, report bugs, and contribute to the project.
