Can anyone give an explaination of what exactly a Bitcoin is and where it derives its value from? I really just want to grasp how a bitcoin actually is something of value? and how a string of characters equate into something that is worth dollars?
Proof of work plus utility, and scarcity.

The Bitcoin mining process is what creates new coins in the Bitcoin economy. To add a new block to the network the miner must produce a hash below a specific target. The only way this can be done is through trial-and-error (bruteforce) so miners are constantly competing to produce as many of these hashes per second as possible so that they earn the newly created bitcoins. 

This competition requires hardware and electricity, both which cost money. This is the Proof of Work (POW), the only way to create new blocks and thereby new bitcoins is by spending money on the mining process. This is also where the scarcity part comes in. Today, every block created produces 12.5 new bitcoins. Every 210,000 blocks (~ 4 years) this reward is cut in half thereby constricting the supply. We've already had two halving events so far. It started at 50 new bitcoin per block.

Lastly utility gives it value. Bitcoins are useful. They can be used to transfer value across the globe almost instantly, for very little cost, and without censorship. Whether it's used for international remittance or gambling doesn't matter - bitcoins have utility. 

So it's not just random string of characters. What appears to be random strings actually represent and mean something. They can be validated by others that can prove that this string of characters represents the money and energy spent creating a valid block.