1000+ Followers and my Steem Dream

This is the last post that I will do that celebrate the number of followers that I have gotten. I usually celebrate the milestones every 200 followers but I felt that 1000 was something to be really grateful for.

I have been on the platform for 136 days and have been able to post at least once a day and over 3000 comments and replies done. It has been an incredible journey so far and I have been blessed with a couple of great communities like my Ohana @steemitfamilyph , @promo-mentors, the Crypto Empire of @spiritualmax , the @steemengine and @youarehope by @sircork who I was introduced by the ever so funny and wisecracking @underground. He is the brains and the SP behind @minnowbootcamp which a lot of our members of Ohana is part of.

In these communities, I have found a lot of kindred spirits that I have grown to look forward talking when I get home from work.They make me smile, they make me laugh so hard, they make me sad at times when people disappear, they make me happy when people return. They inspire me when they get a curie or OCD post. They awe me with their stories, travels and how they overcome their challenges. They make me feel and celebrate being human. It is inspiring.

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I have shared so many stories with them. Even some stories that I would never share with some of my friends or co-workers. You see I have been suffering from depression for a better part of last year. It was so bad that I had to take a leave from a job that I loved doing which is Human Resources. I just couldn't fake my smile or the positive energy anymore. One of my major function was keeping people happy with events and morale-boosting activities. How could I do that when I was running empty.

One week leave granted because it was my birthday as well. I made excuses that I would go out of town but in reality, I was preparing for the journey. All my papers arranged I talked to the family, I shut myself in and began writing a lot of bad poetry, dark stories and feelings on unworthiness.

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Out of all the noise in Steemit one voice asked me if I was doing ok. She was my broken muse as she saw the darkness eating me away. She was my artistic angel that shared the same darkness eating at her. In her art, she drew all the demons that we see, in her music you can hear her vulnerability. In her words, you could feel her sadness.

We would chat for hours until we started talking. She would be the last voice I would hear before I slept and would be the first message when I got up. Little by little I could feel the darkness shrinking. Little did I know that she was taking it all in.

It came without warning. She was crying about losing out on something. She felt broken, unwanted, and unloved. I wanted to reach out and give her a hug, to say that everything was going to be okay and that I am here for her. I hesitated, it never escaped my lips to tell that I love her. It didn't seem the right time. She said that she was going to sleep early and that she appreciates that I am always there for her.

In group therapy, you are often assigned a partner. One of the scariest situations is when your partner never picks up. You get an anxiety attack, you rush to their house only to find them asleep. Sometimes what you see is your worst fears.

She cut off communication. I could not reach her. I do not know if she is okay. She left as suddenly as she came, my broken muse. She left a void...

THE DREAM

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This is in response to @goldendawne Dreaming Big: The Steemit Way

Community building

Late last December I was still feeling the void when members of @steemitfamily which was about 10 active members then decided to bring in more people. A lot of them were able to cash out and use the funds to give their families a great Christmas treat, some were able to pay off debts, others to invest in cryptos. The hype was real! Steemit pays you for your creativity. It is not a scam people!

Friends and families invited. People needed help and my HR tendencies kicked in. I patiently answered questions. I made guides to help them. I even got OCD twice for those kinds of posts. My waking hours were spent between work and mentoring. It wasn't a job or duty it was a passion.

This is where the concept of Ohana first began to take shape. As more and more people came it and we made deep meaningful connections. We had so many different backgrounds but everyone is treated like family. When somebody joins our discord channel they are greeted by the words "Welcome Home" We are Ohana.

If you want to know more about us click on this link

A Role Model Steemian | The most basic reason WHY

If you want to join us feel free to come home.

Ohana Discord

Engagement

Inspired by @abh12345 and his weekly Stewards of Gondor report before we have been pushing for people to engage more. Engagement has so many benefits and I could see no downside to it. I was able to receive delegations from both @ashleykalila and @abh12345 for community building and engagement efforts and so we have set out an Engagement Hero contest every week. I will be donating 1 SBD for the top engager. If they are able to hold on to their spot for 4 weeks they will be able to receive 5 SBD on and so much more.

They will also receive this cute badges that they can use.

I am sad that the Stewards of Gondor has been put on hold by @fulltimegeek as he rallies the troops to fight the troll. Yet his effect can be felt as more people even without the delegation will continue the ideals he set forth. The light of Gondor has been lit and the Riders of Rohan will continue to engage.

To learn more about our plans you can check our Ohana Weekly Luau as we celebrate being a family.
1st Edition of Ohana Weekly Luau

Gift In Kind PH

Lastly, it is my dream to take @giftinkindph to Steemit and help create awareness and opportunities for the indigenous tribe of Aetas living in Zambales.

We have been doing this for 11 years but had only adopted Banawen Elementary school 3 years ago. Last year was the first time that they had someone graduate from grade school and enter high school.

We want to continue our advocacy and hopefully. Steemit will play a big role in expanding the help and services that we can provide that community.

I want to be able to someday turn over the account to one of the kids that we are able to help graduate and create a sustainable source of funds even when we are gone.

I have recently joined @youarehope and will learn from @sircork how to run a charity in the blockchain.

If you want to know more about what we do in Gift in Kind click on this link.

Promoting Steem to Gift in Kind Foundation| Our first step to modern fund raising

So from coming from one of the darkest chapters in my life to wanting to dream of doing so many things using Steem. It has been quite a journey of community building, engagement, and charity.

It is going to be tough. It is bound to have failures from time to time but it will be worth it. Join me as we step towards my Steem dream and maybe we can change the world.

Steem is amazing.

I support @steemfreelancers