Remember there is no one single right way to do anything. Don't accept everything you read as gospel, read it as suggestion and find your own way. There are many sorts of programmers out there, philosophically as well as functionally. Try out a lot of styles. Try fixing a lot of different problems to find your own style, then use it to do things nobody has ever done.

There is a LOT more to programming than code, just as there is a lot more to painting than paint, a lot more to music than notes, and a lot more to writing than words. The better you get, the better you will learn to play computer. Someday, if you keep at it, you will be good enough to try teaching the computer how to play human :D.

HTML is a great way to interface with humans. Once you feel comfortable with it you should move into server-side programming next and see where it takes you :D.

The projects you should be most proud of are the ones where you do something nobody has ever done before; but to get to those you have to learn what others have done, and learn it with respect.

At the end of the day, it's you and your computer having fun together :). Your computer can do a lot of valuable work, but only with your help!