The day-to-day hustle of life has a way of draining and distorting even the most enthusiastic individuals. You can see it everywhere now; most of the population is living through a nightmare while sacrificing their dreams every single day. When we first begin comprehending our surroundings, all we see are fascinating things and beautiful concepts. Soon, we start fostering the idea that the world is our oyster and that we can do whatever we want in our lifetime. However, the illusion of greatness starts to wean off as soon as we step into the real world.
As soon as we go out and mingle with others, the realization dawns upon us that we aren’t as special as we thought we were. We learn that many things that we can do, others can do much better and that the outside world is not a bed of roses. These discoveries start eroding our optimistic worldview and before we know it, our hopes and dreams begin fading away. Often the expectations and responsibilities thrust upon an individual forcethem to choose a path of mediocrity and comfort and the less traveled path remains as so.Still, there are some who find the courage to come back and fulfill their passions.
Suchis the case of Steven Carrero. Born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, but raised in New York, Steven Carrero is popularly known by his stage name _IAmCrypto.With a hardworking factory worker fatherand a stay-at-home mom, Steven chose to join the United States Air Force, shortly after marrying his childhood sweetheart, Valerie. He spent twenty years in the Air Force and experienced everything from multiple deployments, to injuries, differences of opinions, and whatnot. After a certain point, Steven realizedthat the Air Force was not the same anymore and decided to retire as a Master Sergeant under Honorable Conditions.
Despite having a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice, Steven chose not to pursue a career in law enforcement after leaving the US Air Force. Instead, he decided to live for himself and rediscover his lost passions, one of which was gaming. Steven used to be an avid videogame fan and owned every gaming system known to man before his enlistment. Steven’s post-Air Force professional gaming career consisted ofTekken Tag tournaments, Marvel vs Capcom 2, and Socom Navy Seals competitions. He also has a keen interest in MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) as he said in an interview, “Once I started playing my first MMORPG, Final Fantasy 11 online it was over for me, my outdoor time reminisced.” To this day, Steven strives to perfect his gaming skills and boasts a community of almost 80 thousand followers on his social media gaming page.
Steven not only immersed himself in gaming but also took up other interests such as writing and drawing which ended up in him creatingnot one but three children’s books. His self-published books, Lords of the Gifted, Mommy am I, and The Adventures of Trez: Lost Dino, not only contain fascinating stories that he wrote but also harbor beautiful illustrations that he created himself.Steven’s interests also extended to music and he ended up writing two songs, “Trump Card” and “Forms of Depression.” Both of his songs featureLucci Damus and are available on all major streaming platforms.
Steven’s exemplary story teaches us that it doesn’t matter how you start, what matters is how you decide to finish. Steven currently lives in New Jersey with his wife, four kids, and two dachshund pups and continues to explore his future interests which include NFTs and cryptocurrency.