Who you are now
For the first couple of years it is the first fact about you. It fades, slower than you want, and mostly because of what you build.
It's the first fact about you
It's in every job interview, every date, every awkward pause when somebody asks what you've been up to.
That fades
Slower than you want, and it does fade. At some point it turns into a thing that happened instead of the thing you are.
The switch is mostly about how much other stuff you've built since.
What to watch for
One is letting it become your whole identity, even in a good way. Being the guy who went to prison and came back is a story, and it's yours to tell, but it's a small box to live in.
The other is pretending it didn't happen. That takes energy forever and it breaks badly when somebody finds out.
Somewhere in between
A person who did a thing, paid for it, learned from it, and is now busy with something else.
Most people get there. It just takes longer than anybody tells you.
Most people get there
It just takes longer than anybody tells you. Ask about early termination, keep paying the restitution, tell your PO before they find out, and spend the rest of it building the thing that eventually outranks the article.
These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. Answers are free, and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer.
I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out.
Somebody else is two years out and stuck on the same thing. Pass it on.