I've spent the day like I do with most weekends, on my computer trying to absorb as much information as I can about cryptocurrency. I found my way into cryptocurrency about 6 months ago, with Bitcoin trading at $759. To be completely frank, the allure of making a fortune trading alt-coins was what drew me into the crypto space. The months leading up to my discovery, I was combing through Reddit subs to find a niche market to create an affiliate marketing website (Creating a website where you produce content sprinkled with affiliate links to Amazon and eBay and others to earn a percentage of whatever revenue is earned from users you direct to said site). While on Reddit I came across a slew of cryptocurrency subreddits, which I started to actively follow and read. After inquiring for resources to look to review to get an introduction to cryptocurrency and trading alt-coins, I was referred to Cryptocopia, a Slack group filled with cryptocurrency traders.
I have no doubt in my mind if it weren’t for that slack and the great people in it, I would not have even thought about attempting the arduous path into the depths of cryptocurrency. Cryptocopia is not a pump group or a paid trading group. It is completely free to join and reap the benefits the group offers. 3-ide-raven, the creator and admin of the group, has created an environment where both novies and experts can interact seamlessly. Not to mention the competency of the moderators, including the creator of the RiptoBux Waves/Ethereum asset: Ripto, a very active Strat ICO holder/community member, Myco, and CEO of the Blockchain Brokerage - 
Invite link - https://cryptocopia.herokuapp.com/
3-ide-raven twitter/invite link -
https://twitter.com/3ideRaven/status/845042354977488896
- 3ideRaven
Let me open this up with telling you I am not a genius. I am not a straight A student. I'm not some Vitalik tech wunderkind. I do struggle in a standard education learning environment. I don't learn sitting in a classroom, mindlessly filling in blanks. I do look for excuses to reason with myself why I don't do better in school. I blame it on my anxiety or ADHD; I tell myself grades don't represent my intelligence. In truth, it is probably part of that; it is also due to my lack of effort in my high school career. The only thing that motivates me through the typical school day is my participation in cross country and track. While my passion and motivation for conventional school is lacking, I do consider myself an intellectual. I have had an obsession with entrepreneurial ventures, stemming from when I met Warren Buffett at the age of 8. I have read the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson more times than you can count on your hand. I love to learn, when it's on my own terms, and especially when I can actually apply the knowledge to real world applications. It doesn't hurt if those real world applications can make me some money too. I think one of the biggest reason why I have found myself so interested in Crypto.
I now find myself finishing up my junior year of high school with an average GPA but an enthralling passion for cryptography and cryptocurrency. As of now the only established cryptocurrency programs are at elite universities such as Princeton or Cornell. My plan is to attend community college for two years after my senior year of high school. While living at home to acquire my general education credits, and using the money and time I will have saved by staying at home to further my my knowledge in cryptocurrency. This I hope will give me a more competitive edge when attempting to get accepted to a specifically blockchain technology centered college education.
The last six months have been without a doubt the most formative months of my youth. In pursuit of crypto I took on the task of teaching myself every aspect of the space I can. From late night binges of Harvard’s CS50 YouTube page to taking the online Cryptocurrency course offered by Princeton on Coursera ( https://www.coursera.org/learn/cryptocurrency ). To educating myself on cryptology, I started with the Khan Academy course on cryptography, and am now currently reading Bruce Scneier’s Applied Cryptography. The more I learn about what makes up cryptocurrency, the more I am drawn, to leave my mark on the space. I believe any sizable or worthwhile contribution is only possible on my part if I am proficient enough to actually code and develop myself. To get to that goal, I am teaching myself C++. I've always considered myself tech savvy but never have put the effort in to learn to code. I've found trying to learn from a copy of C++ for Dummies too boring to put much time and effort into. My next attempt to learn C++ will be some interesting looking YouTube playlists I've come across. I know how important knowledge and proficiency in C++ (coding in general) is to actually being able to provide real contribution of value.
As my last week of school starts this Monday, I'm passing up looking for a summer job. Something I know this will be interpreted as lazy and me not having motivation in my life, but I know if I don't take the time to go headfirst into trying to gain as much experience in development and cryptocurrency, I will always be watching from the sidelines. I plan on posting a weekly article with updates on my progress in my path down the depths of cryptocurrency. I also plan on regularly posting more specialized posts on views on current events in the cryptocurrency space, projects I've come across or I think are interesting. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any suggestions or recommendations about anything I have mentioned in this post. Even if you just want to talk crypto reach out and we can talk in-depth about the crypto space. On a little unrelated of a topic, I am an avid distance runner (HS Cross Country and Track runner), so if any runners or fans of the sport come across this, reach out I always enjoy talking with a fellow runner.
You can follow me on Twitter - @KidKrypt0 (@MottsThoughts). My handle on most Slack/Telegram groups is @KidKrypt0 or @MottsThoughts, feel free to DM on any platform. You can also reach me by email at aidan@games.com