This is my story. A financial trader. At 15, I started stock trading with $500 scraped together from odd jobs. My first trade was in a hyped-up tech stock, and it felt like a game I could master. But it crashed 30% overnight after a bad earnings report I didn’t understand, wiping out half my money. The sting of loss was sharp—shame, anger, and a sinking fear I’d never get ahead. Early on, I chased hot tips from sketchy online forums, buying high and selling low in panic. A penny stock I bet $...

This is my story. A financial trader. At 15, I started stock trading with $500 scraped together from odd jobs. My first trade was in a hyped-up tech stock, and it felt like a game I could master. But it crashed 30% overnight after a bad earnings report I didn’t understand, wiping out half my money. The sting of loss was sharp—shame, anger, and a sinking fear I’d never get ahead. Early on, I chased hot tips from sketchy online forums, buying high and selling low in panic. A penny stock I bet $...