Hello from @treeleaves - techie who loves balance, nature and progress

I've been around a little while on Steem and have participated in some interesting discussions. I cannot easily prove I’m no one else but I do try to act uniquely.

I grew up in a middle-class family in a nice neighborhood. Our family had what we needed but we lived frugally.

As a very young child, we bought one of the early computers and I watched others use interesting programs. Later, we used Basic to make our own games.

I was a pretty normal kid who had some friends but was quiet and shy. Eventually, it became evident that I struggled at school. I’ve always been a deep thinker, so maybe I just was off in my own world. Anyway, I struggled to always engage and had difficulty spelling and reading.

In third grade, however, I was absorbed by a book of middle eastern fables. I kept reading and working at it until I began to recognize most words. Soon I was reading by sight, not by sound. I began to do okay in school, and eventually got mostly As.

Around this time, I learned to program. It’s amazing how it felt creating my first computer programs.

I went through honors classes in High School, but I still struggled to be as quick as some, in non-math based classes. Luckily, I’ve always had an inventive and imaginative mind.

During my first two years in computer science, I visited and lived in two countries, spent a semester over seas, and got straight As. After that I went downhill, pushing myself too hard, and missing family. I begun to enjoy liberal arts and to avoid computers. I would work out problems and meditate or think in quiet natural places on campus. I made new friends playing pick-up sports, as many in my classes went their separate ways.

My work life has been much more interesting and chaotic than expected. My semi-depression faded at my first job. Unfortunately, I did too much there and felt like an equal to my boss, which made him unhappy. I became intensely involved in a cool personal project, and a short time later began a start-up with a friend. In this and another startup, I was successful (as a coder) but the business was not. Despite some employment-chaos, I’ve done a lot of cool stuff, including some now-patented work.

At disconcerting times, like after the first start-up ended, I found direction and broadening of mind as I read history and other educating literature.

I discovered Bitcoin around May 2015. Satoshi Nakamoto fascinated me and the technology seemed cool. It was so approachable, not needing any company or entity to operate. I also began remembering strange moments involved with Bitcoin, I’d forgotten about. Anyway, I became interested in cryptocurrency and still hope to help use blockchain to benefit the world.

My life is pretty pampered compared to many on earth, although not always easy. No matter how lucky or brilliant some moments may have been, I’m continually brought back to how little I know. I suppose I’m more of a dreamer than a doer, and once in a while my dreams become reality.

@treeleaves

“… how easily ambition disguises itself under the name of a calling, possibly in good faith and deceiving itself, in sanctimonious confusion.” - V. Hugo