![image](https://img.esteem.ws/ctxv2l0m8f.jpg)

Hello fellow steemers!

I've been gone for a few months now, due to lots of responsibilities both in college and work, that made it difficult to spare time to really put my heart in writing in this incredible platform. I'm Brazilian, so most of my posts have been in my home language, portuguese; however, I'd like to be able to talk with more people here, so I hope my fellow ptgramers understand.

It's been more than a year now that I heard of Steemit and entered the crypto world for real. Reflecting about the journey I've been through, it really got me thinking in what life events composed and how it affected the path of each one of you that ended up in this unique and special platform.

My story with crypto and blockchain started back in 2010, when I was only 12. I was reading a science magazine, when an article caught my eyes. It was about a new type of currency called "Bitcoin", that I didn't really understand at the time. It got my attention because it was completely digital and was already starting to be used on a café in Amsterdam, if I remember right. Back then, it wasn't as easy to buy btc from here in Brazil, but I asked my mother anyway. It was worth a little more than a dollar at the time, so I thought it was money I could spare. Unfortunately, me and my mom couldn't figure out how to buy it, and we just forgot about it.

More than seven years later, bitcoin surpassed the 12k mark and it suddenly was everywhere in the news. Me and one of my cousins had been annoying my mom about the price of it and how much we could have profited for some months, and in december she decided to invest in crypto. I was the responsible for managing the wallet, so I started to really study about it.

And as most people that get into it, I was amazed by the blockchain technology. I read and watched videos nonstop about the subject, and found Steemit through a video of the incredible @louisthomas (cheers btw mate! ). It took me about 15 days for my account to be approved and created, and I was finally in! Since then, I have been sure that Steemit will be the main social network someday. Decentralization will give back the power to both the consumers and the creators, and I think it is a matter of time until people understand that YouTube monetization and the social structure in the popular networks nowadays are taking away the control from us, the users.

And well, that's my story. I hope you're reading up to now, and maybe you also enjoyed it! I've seen a lot less posts and interactions in this bear market, so if you want, don't forget to tell your story in the comments too! Communities are made of people, and each one of us have amazing stories of our own.

My English is not perfect, but I hope my ideas were clear! I also hope that the New Year's Eve has been great for all of you, and that 2019 can bring us lots of exciting and learning experiences, and maybe bring back another bull run and excitement in the whole space.

Best wishes, and keep steeming!

Arthur