IH story draft

All my life I used to be a pushover. Bullied in school for being a dweeb. Controlled by my overprotective family. Taken advantage of by peers and employers. Quitting my unfulfilling job to become an indie developer didn’t help much. I was still an insecure loser building apps with the old mindset, for the wrong market. I was afraid to ask for money, so I asked for donations instead. How much did I make like that? A total of $40 over the next two years.

Suddenly everything collapsed. After another painful episode of being walked over I decided that it had to stop. I cut off toxic people from my life, cut off junk food and alcohol, hit the gym, and started going out more, fighting my social anxiety. I swore that never again would I let anyone push me around. Nor an employer who’d treat me like cattle, nor a friend or love interest who’d just use me. And hell yeah would I charge for my work! In these last two years I lost 45 lbs, got much more confident and easy-going, and made lots of new friends from different walks of life. I finally came up with a product that people loved and were ready to pay for. But most importantly, I earned the power of self-respect.

Now, saying that I’m living a dream would be a lie. It’s been over 4 years since I had any decent income. My app is now in the “valley of death” and hardly makes me $100 a month. I’ve burnt out as a coder, so my progress is slow. My life as a solo maker is a non-stop emotional roller coaster of ups and despairs. Heck, I still live with my grandparents who support me financially. I’m extremely ashamed of that. But I guess that’s the price I’m paying for a chance to eventually have the life that I won’t hate.

OLD version of paragraph 1

All my life I used to be a pushover. Bullied in school for being a dweeb. Controlled by my overprotective family. Taken advantage of by peers and employers. An insecure loser whose only solace was a computer screen. Quitting my unfulfilling job to become an indie developer didn’t help much. I was still building apps with the old mindset, making poor business decisions, trying to be a nice guy, and giving my products away for free. That’s how I wasted the next two years, having made some laughable $40 from donations.