It was March 2007. I graduated from college with a degree in digital media and I graduated as salutatorian in my class. It wasn't valedictorian, but it's certainly nothing to sneeze at. I thought for sure I would be able to find either the employment or freelance graphic and website design work. Almost 11 years later, it hasn't worked out for me as I thought it would. I do have some freelance website design and development work in, but it's not enough for me to make a living. I work at a tech store on weekends. Even with that, things are very difficult for me.
You see, I have a couple of things working against me in my work life. I have Asperger's syndrome and mild spastic diplegia cerebral palsy. Doing a lot of manual labor is difficult because of the spastic diplegia, and meanwhile Asperger's Syndrome makes social interactions in jobs that I do get more challenging than the average person.
I work retail on weekend in reail but even still, it's still not what I kind of need. It's a challenge to make it every couple of weeks just working that and finding website design and consulting work. That's not to say it can't be done, but I know the reality; I'm socially awkward and my brain doesn't communicate with my legs properly, resulting in many accidents for me. My social awkwardness can sometimes cause people to think I'm odd and though I mean well, it can create a bad impression on those who don't understand, so I'm told.
Yet I keep trying. I keep doing this day by day. But doing this stuff day by day is not improving the situation.
In 2013, I first found out about Bitcoin. It was a little bit before its rise in price. If I remember correctly, it was at $13/Bitcoin at the time. I had a decent job then and I probably could have bought 20 of them. I'm still owe on my student loans. I didn't even know to buy Bitcoin at the time as I didn't really know exactly what it was good for and how much the value would rise. Had I held onto it, I would have had $220,000. I would have had enough to pay off my student loans in full and have plenty left over. I could re-invest or do something totally different.
These days, I'm mining different cryptocurrencies every day with my graphics card. I want many different currencies that I believe have potential in order to diversify my portfolio. I know cryptocurrency is not for people who want to get rich, and that's not what I'm trying to do. But the loans are a burden, and my aim is to get them paid one way or the other. I'm also particularly interested in cryptocurrencies that I personally find intriguing; You're already familiar with Steem. I'm also paritcularly interested in Substratum, which is creating a new, safer internet that doesn't require a VPN or any special software to be downloaded. You're paid by using your computer to serve part of the content that is made. Services like DTube and LBRY are also interesting. DTube is providing a great Youtube alternative and for me, it's a great place to get noticed because I'm not competing with too many people. LBRY is also providing decentralized content and other content, and people can give tips on content that they like in LBRY Tokens.
My goal is to make a better future for myself. I've tried and failed ever since my 20s. I'm in my 30s now, and I have to do something different. Yes, I keep trying. And I have had some success but not nearly what I need. Had I researched a bit more about Bitcoin in 2013 and invested, I would be doing alright now. I don't want to miss that opportunity again. And the opportunity is out there. I'm not sure where it is exactly, but that's why I diversify. I suppose now I'm smarter, and wiser. I've learned from 2013. I wasn't quite ready for the cryptocurrency book last year but I'm ready now, and I believe something great will come out of it. Cryptocurrencies have recently dropped and now they seem to have stabilized. So I'm in. It could drop more, true. But I'm in for the long term and I think something beautiful will happen.
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