I've known Bitcoin since 2012 but started using it in 2019, though it was still for payments (funding and withdrawal) of online Forex trading, nothing more because I was careful to deal with something that might aid illegality. I later discovered that I was naive at that time, the latest development/revolution in Bitcoin made me ever feel bad and I had lost a lot of opportunities in the past to this.
The lesson learned was that it is better to move closer to what is new to us than to be condemning it from afar. Can you imagine that despite having enough money to invest in the cryptocurrency between 2019 -2021, I was adamant that I wouldn't because I believed Bitcoin aids legalities like trafficking, money laundering, terrorism, activities of drug barons, and many more. I forgot to think that as it has its advantages, it also has its disadvantages, no system works perfectly.
Thanks to the present-day awareness, development and regulations that make it clear that Bitcoin is not as porous as I thought. 95% of my only transactions are now crypto-based.
I love to read your stories about Bitcoin adoption too!
I understand your dilemma and maybe we all went through it a bit at the beginning because often what obscures us is the misinformation made by the mass media. We get carried away by bad news and our mind is almost paralyzed because it can't see anything but the negative side of which they have shown us. Fortunately for the more educated, those who like to dig and not stop in front of illusions, it happens that they suddenly understand what the real purpose of Bitcoin is and begin to see it from another point of view. I like to think that I am finally free from the intermediary and not a slave to the financial model.