When Bitcoin was first introduced into the world, I was 18. I was about to start going to an art academy, and although I was always good at math, I never thought about pursuing a STEM field. I was too in love with the idea of a bohemian, hedonistic life of an artist. Now, almost ten years later, I wish I had turned left. Still, my art education gave me some skills, and I learned a lot about how NOT to do things. In the midst of all that, one word broke through. Bitcoin. I remember that, maybe in 2010, I googled Bitcoin because I just couldn't believe you can make digital money. I was reading the Wiki page, and I understood absolutely nothing. Well, that's not entirely true - I understood one thing - this would be a game-changer. I couldn't comprehend it technologically, hell, I didn't even know how the internet worked, but I was fascinated (and so very frustrated that I couldn't take part in this). I was so far away from this world, studying to become an artist, surrounded by artists, and logical thought or tech savvy people were nowhere to be found around me. Yes, I had internet, but I could read about Blockchain for years without ever understanding how it works. Still, I've always kept Bitcoin in my mind, hoping one day I'll get it. I knew very little about it, understood nothing, but for some reason, intuitively, I believed in the idea, I knew it was, somehow, revolutionary. 

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Years passed, I finished school, started my career - and I was so fucking disillusioned. Nothing was the way I thought it would be. This world was so open to interpretation and the subjective view, you couldn't tell good from bad, right from wrong. What was true one day, would be false the next, and so on. I was sad, I was unhappy, and I knew this was not what I wanted to do. I didn't want to exploit my deepest thoughts and emotions for profit that depended on some art critics's whim. 

Disappointed as I was, I knew I had to find something else, something that could satisfy my mind, something that would align with my beliefs, although at the time, I wasn't able to articulate them. Right around then, I met the first software developer of my life. He introduced me to his way of thinking - logical, rational, objective, realistic. I spent years swirling around in my mind, never able to find one true thing or a fact to hold on to, and I was so excited to learn about a different perspective I could apply to my life, one that could give me practical skills and results.

So I gave it all up, after one last exhibition inspired by Ray Kurzweil's book How to Create a Mind. This exhibition was a bridge between my old life and my future. I decided to move to a city called Novi Sad. I had visited it a few times before, and I remembered it was one of the rare places where being alone felt right. It was also very cheap, which was a good fit for me, seeing as I had no job at all, and I rejected my education and the opportunities it could provide. I didn't want to spend one more day discussing whether the sky is blue or slightly lighter blue. This felt meaningless. 

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I thought of Novi Sad as a fairy-tale, romantic city, but when I arrived, I realized it had become a booming IT center. Somehow, every person I met was in some way involved in the industry. For me, they represented an infinite pool of knowledge. I became good friends with a JavaScript senior architect, and soon I had found myself spending every night at his cave. I would tell him about my problems, and he would resolve them with two sentences. I watched as my confusion dissolved. Things finally started to make sense. He explained everything to me from the beginning, how the internet works, what makes a webpage, how do all the different programming languages work and what are they used for. But, his main focus, his passion - it was Bitcoin. Finally! Finally I had met someone who could introduce me, Alice lost in the Wonderland, into this brave new world. He also had a friend who worked at a big mining farm, and with their help, step by step, I started to understand how Blockchain works. As soon as I understood the tech (to the best of my abilities), I realized that Bitcoin is far more than just a currency. I understood the implications and the reach such a tech could have in a society. I was beside myself with joy. I started learning JavaScript, doing online courses and watching my friend build whole applications, wonderful complicated systems. What used to be an insurmountable mountain of mystery to me, now became everyday life, and I could take part in it. 

Around that time, in March, a FB friend, biofeedback designer, posted about Steemit. I checked it out, but it all seemed too complicated and I was still insecure about my knowledge, so I just, let's say, closed the tab. Sometime in August, Steemit popped up again, and I said fuck it, how difficult can this be. I read the white paper, understood very little, but carried on. I made two posts in August that went unnoticed, and kinda forgot about the whole thing until October. And, just like that, torn between art and computer science, I started writing again. Steemit was the first thing that inspired me to write in years. I earned my first money, set up a Wirex account, ordered a card, and sold some Steem for Bitcoin. After almost ten years, finally, finally, I had some Bitcoin to my name. And it wouldn't have happened without Steemit. In a span of one year, my perspective completely shifted, ever so gently. I remember visiting an art event around that time, and feeling so relaxed, because I finally stopped giving a fuck about arbitrary things. There was a whole new world opening for me. I liked the simplicity of it - things either work or they don't. The machine understands or it doesn't. What I found to be limiting before, now became limitless with possibilities. Steemit was the first place where I became certain - the effort I put in will pay off. Free market. Wow. It really liberated me from feeling that somebody owes me something for my precious existence. I finally found a field where the work you do is not measured by meaningless words, but by real, actual value. 

And I'm only just beginning. I've recently set up a Poloniex account, and I'm trying to understand how does the market work, and how to trade to maximum benefit. Just before New Years, I sold some Bitcoin for USD. I wanted to buy something tangible for the money I earned doing what I love, with complete freedom, here on Steemit. I bought gifts for friends to show them that this "imaginary" money I made on an "imaginary" social network is not so imaginary after all. 

My next step is to hoard Steem and Bitcoin and learn how to trade cleverly and efficiently, while contributing quality content on the platform. Many hate on 2016, and it wasn't easy for sure - but for me, this was the year I learned about programming, about Blockchain, I joined Steemit, started writing again, and became a proud holder of Bitcoin. Future possibilities that are now opening in my mind are endless, and I am so thankful that human brain has this ability to change, shift focus and decide where to spend the most valuable thing we have - attention. 

P.S My example made some friends interested to learn more about Blockchain tech and crypto-currencies. Now, they all come from the same background as I do, but they don't have developer friends with endless patience. So, I compiled a list of useful sources of knowledge - if you have something to add, please do. Also, if the experts among you find some inaccuracies in these materials, speak up! Let's share the good information. 

https://www.ted.com/talks/bettina_warburg_how_the_blockchain_will_radically_transform_the_economy

https://aeon.co/essays/how-blockchain-will-revolutionise-far-more-than-money

http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/blockchain-data-storage-may-soon-change-your-business-model/

Finally, 2016 confirmed a timeless wisdom - sharing is caring, and sharing knowledge is one of the best things you can do to benefit others. Let 2017 be a year we share knowledge and opportunities, let's make it a year people learn about crypto-currencies and the tech that lies behind it, an all the freedoms and new chances it can facilitate. Steem ON!