Before I start my entry, why do I have the 2.0.1003 launcher version? Is it normal? I can't see the option to submit a custom version on top...

I am desperate. It is rare for my school to give us so many days off, a.k.a. holiday. Because I've seen the year-end holiday coming very soon, I decided to re-download Minecraft. I was so excited, but it is safe to say that I am upset and disappointed because I am not able to join any servers, or realms. I don't see anyone having any problem because the servers have more than three thousand people in it, so why couldn't I join? I spent three whole weeks trying to find a solution to this. I've tried so many things, but even worse, I couldn't even log into the launcher. But it's fixed now. I just need a solution for this server thing, and not to mention, it crashes very often. I keep getting the message "Failed to login: the authentication servers are currently down for maintenance." I keep re-launching Minecraft, went back and forth on YouTube, Google, forums, everywhere! I changed my password, re-dowloaded the launcehr three times, I just can't find the solution. Please fix this.