Introduction
Hello everyone — this is my first-ever blog post.
I’m excited to try this format as a way to document my journey as an options trader. If you’re new here, my name is Cynthia, and I go by @slstrades across my social platforms (Instagram, YouTube, and X).
I graduated with a degree in Finance, but my passion for the markets started in a much more unexpected way.
Back in college at CSUF, one of my accounting professors asked the class to raise their hand if they owned stock in a company. Out of a room of about 50 students, maybe five hands went up. I remember sitting there confused — I didn’t really understand what he was asking, or even what a stock truly was.
That confusion turned into curiosity.
That same night, I went home and started researching what stocks were… and I fell straight down the rabbit hole. For the rest of that night — and honestly, the next month — I became obsessed. This was October 2019.
I watched countless YouTube videos, took nonstop notes, and basically locked myself in my room studying the markets day in and day out. Luckily, my family didn’t think it was too strange — I’ve always been a homebody and I’ve always loved learning.
About a month later, I placed my first-ever trade. The ticker was ZNGA (I’m not even sure if it’s still around), and I made roughly $6.
But that $6 changed everything.
It was the first time I had ever made money online, from my laptop, and it unlocked what felt like endless possibilities.
For the next two years, I pretty much broke even.
- Year one ended slightly red
- Year two ended slightly green
Then came 2022.
That year was absolutely insane for both me and my trading — and the answer was TSLA. I ended up making close to $10,000 from TSLA alone, growing my account from about $1,000 to nearly $15,000.
At that point, I genuinely felt like I was on my way to profitability. Like I had finally figured it out.
Then November 2022 hit.
I was dealing with a lot of family issues, carrying around a ton of unresolved anger, and I ended up self-sabotaging. I sized up way too big — almost as if I was doing it on purpose — and within two weeks, I gave back an entire year’s worth of profits.
I was shocked.
I was angry.
I felt numb.
And eventually, I had to accept that this was now my reality.
I had just turned 23, and I felt more lost than ever. I questioned everything — my trading, my career choice, even my degree. I wondered if I should just give up and go down a more “traditional” path.
So in 2023, I was wiped out.
I got a full-time job and moved cities. For the next two years, I focused on paying my bills and saving whatever I could. I tried getting back into trading a few times — funding my account with around $3k, losing about half (usually out of desperation), pulling the rest out, and then going back to focusing on work.
During this period, I also decided to return to college after having dropped out my junior year to pursue trading full-time. I was juggling trading in the mornings, work during the day, and school at night.
My days were often 14 hours long.
I was commuting from LA to CSUF at least three times a week — rinse and repeat.
In 2024, my work schedule changed and I started going in at 7am, which meant I could no longer trade in the mornings. I was still in school, but no longer trading consistently. I’d fund my account here and there with $1k or $3k, but nothing ever stuck. And to be honest this time was a bit of a blur in retrospect.
Fast forward to now.
In August, I was laid off due to company restructuring. Instead of panicking, I decided to take this as an opportunity — to finally give trading the full attention and respect it deserves.
I funded my account again with $3,000 in November, and so far I’m up about 50%. This time feels different. I have more experience, more self-awareness, and a much better understanding of both the market and myself.
I’m now 26 years old.
I won’t lie — there’s more fear now than there was before. But I don’t want to let that stop me. I genuinely believe I can make this work.
If you’d like to follow along on this journey — the wins, the losses, the lessons, and the real trades — feel free to subscribe to this newsletter or check out my YouTube channel:
👉 https://www.youtube.com/@slstrades
Thanks for being here 🫶🏽