Well.. @teamhumble had cake yesterday. And It turns out we needed to head back into town because of an Amazon locker mixup (on my part of course) so we figured we’d grab a few things we missed yesterday, grab the packages and maybe pick up a little treat to celebrate MY One-Year Steemiversary, which just so happens is TODAY!!
But first Breakfast. Because…. breakfast! The spot we like has an awesome vegetarian breakfast with Quorn sausage, which is still like Jetsons spacey-science food to me, but damn it looks exactly like sausage, and tastes pretty damn good too. (We grabbed some mock Quorn “chicken” for a curry tonight too so we’ll see how those spores treat us. How very Star Trek Discovery!)
Sorted MAYTE. Yay! Happy breakfast faces!
Through our errands and bouts waiting for the bus I’ve had a few minutes to reflect on what it’s meant to me to be plugged into any community in general, not to mention such an open, loving and free decentralized one.
I haven’t been active on any social media for about 2 years now. I use twitter to send out empty pings into the universe, share new VO tracks, or retweet something I thought clever or made me laugh. I used to spend a lot of my time on Instagram, and was even an Instagram “consultant” of sorts, providing strategies to small businesses. I used to love it, because it was my escape from Facebook, but now it feels just the same, the marketers have moved in. The algorithm has changed. You’ve got to pay to be seen. Pay for “engagement” pay for an “audience” who really doesn’t give a damn about you, what you’re going through or what you care about.
Enter Steemit. @lloyddavis invited @teamhumble and a day later I signed up as well. I was overwhelmed as most are. And while the idea of making money for the things I was blogging and sharing anyway, but I kept waiting for a “catch”. I promised myself I’d give it a fair shot, and about 6 months later. I wrote and recorded an audiobook version of my first intro post and also submitted a “moment I always want to remember” to a #womenofsteemit tag.
Of course I didn’t make a mint. Nor was I expecting to, but what DID happen was utterly shocking. COMMENTS! A lot of them and THOUGHTFUL ones, ones from folks welcoming me, thanking me for being so vulnerable and candid and excited to hear more, from little ‘ol me.
In the following months, life got tough. I never imagined I’d be apart from @teamhumble for nearly 10 months this stretch. It took it’s toll but I gave myself permission to share my heart with whatever processing power my brain had left from long freelance days and a few tough doggo jobs.
I cried over my laptop writing, I smiled waking up to “Good Morning @Dayleeo” posts from @teamhumble while we were apart, and I made a few points of connection, some familiar faces in a once lonely blockchain. Folks who were cheering us on, and encouraging us with their resteems, upvotes and comments.
In a lot of ways it kept me going, kept me waking up each day, getting on the yoga mat to sort out my anxieties, and sore body, and trying again for a full day at the machine, hoping maybe soon I’d get back to @teamhumble.
I’m happy to say I’m writing this right next to him at this very moment. In fact he’s watching a spoof video someone made called “Stranger Pugs 2” and we both had a laugh not 30 seconds ago.
I’m here… and damn, and I thankful.
And that’s because of you Steemit. This community and this platform has made the impossible happen. Never in a ZILLION years did I think I’d be eating Creamy&Delicious pastries laughing alongside some of the folks I’d come to really care for in a few short days. Steemfest was the icing on the cake of a year that started pretty hard but has ended so full of love and laughs and happiness.
I debated writing out a list of thank you’s to all of the lovely giving and supportive new friends I’ve made. But I feel as though I’d go on and on like a long-winded actor during a stereotypical oscar acceptance speech. Please know if you’re reading this. You’re very VERY likely one of the folks I’m talking about, and whom I’m sending digital hugs to as we speak.
So this blackcurrant tart and this lemon curd tart go out to you Steemit. (sorry I ate the lemon tart waiting for the bus, the bus was late, what was I supposed to do!!)
And thank you from the bottom of this mystical cat’s heart. I can’t wait to see what my next year on @steemit brings.
Love, A thankful One-year-old Steemian named,
⚡️Dayleeo
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