Nine hundred and forty six days ago I began my steem journey as a content creator; I still recall exactly where I was sitting when I clicked publish on my introduction post, and how long I agonised over sending it to the blockchain. I did though, and it is still there for anyone to find...

I decided to join in on the @theycallmedan initiative about how has steem impacted my life although I don't have Twitter so won't be able to share it there. Sorry for that. Here's some words anyway.

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I was brought to steem by my brother, @tarazkp, who tried for six months to onboard me. I was working a full-time job and had many commitments in the real world and so put it off despite his insistence that I join. I didn't feel I was in the right headspace, and besides, I wasn't a fan of social media.

Could I write? Of course, and enjoyed it a lot...But did I want to share what I wrote?...Was it interesting, good enough and was I willing to accept the possible criticism and trolling that often came from social media?

I started reading and writing from a very young age and always found a lot of enjoyment in it, but rarely did I allow anyone to read it. I spent over a year writing a book that I had hard-bound then gifted to my wife...She, and one other person, are the only people that have read the several hundred thousand words contained there, and that other person is now deceased (my mum.) So, I could write, but preferred to do so privately...Did I really want to write for strangers.

I've never been much of a supporter of social media feeling no desire to share every minute detail with strangers and so steem seemed somewhat repellant I guess is the word; I didn't really know or care what it was about...And yet, I signed up and tentatively clicked publish on that first post on June 13th 2017. I had arrived on steem...

At the time I was rebuilding my life after a rogue business partner had destroyed my property development company, stolen all of the bank-funds (A sizable seven-figure sum) and had cost me almost everything my wife and I had worked for in our lives, and a lot of emotional turmoil. It was a difficult time for me and my wife and things seemed bleak.

I felt like an abject failure and felt like everyone was looking at me pointing fingers and casting accusing eyes at me everywhere I went...And so I went to ground, exiting an industry I'd been very successful and happy within and simply disappearing seemingly from the face of the earth. Financially I was almost ruined and I just wanted to crawl under a rock...

Slowly I came back though. I applied the same tenacity, persistence and effort I had always shown, dug deep within and found it with in me to stand up and take that first step, to take ownership...And then came steem.

So, I posted that introduction post and went on from there. Steem allowed me to explore my feelings, even though my posts didn't necessarily expose them so clearly for the world to see...They were there though...Fears, doubts, hopes, goals, plans, motivations...All the good and bad things in my head, and life, were poured into the blockchain which, unbeknown to me at the time, was exactly what I needed.

Steem gave me an outlet, a sounding board and a focus for my thoughts, and the replies and engagement I received, together with the outpouring of me through my posts, all urged me onward. They pushed and pulled me a little further from the tribulations of the past and towards the vibrant life I'd begun to recreate for myself and my wife Faith. The comments and engagement I was receiving...Well, those people will never know how much they meant to me in reality and to this day I still value the engagement I receive. It means a lot to me.

I've just clicked over to a reputation score of 74 and have posted 1408 original-content blogs, (That's 1.48 posts for every one of the days I've been here). I have received over 17,350 replies and made over 15,450 comments. Small numbers compared to some, but each and every post, comment or reply is responsible for assisting me to acheive a Phoenix-style rebirth from the emotional ashes left by a rogue who thought my money and company would be better if it was his.

How has steem impacted my life? Well, profoundly is an apt word and probably the best way to put it.

It has been a rocky road though and there's been detractors, trolls and others whose black hearts and minds prefer chaos and destruction in preference to the more vibrant and productive actions and activities on the blockchain...They will always exist in some form or another, but even rocky roads teach us a thing or two and so I wouldn't change it; Doing so would negate the journey and dilute the essence of what it has created within me.

There's so many who have helped me along the way, and still do, and I am very grateful to you all. Please accept my general thank you and know that you have become an important part of my steem-journey and whether you drift in and out of my blog randomly or you're there consistently, I appreciate you being around.

Steem is a community of individuals and as such each person has a choice to make. I chose, and will continue to choose, the path that has helped me crawl from beneath the rock I had hidden under. It's our responsibility to present the best versions of ourselves here, and also our right to choose not to, and work against the greater good...It's a choice we all need to make. Crawling under rocks...Nah, it's not for me, and so I'll just do what I do, here on steem.

Steem's cathartic effect upon me has been a welcome result and whilst I have hopes of the steem price rising to reward us all, I have found great reward from simply being here, sharing my story, and writing some words. Is it enough? Yes I believe it is, for me anyway...Has it impacted my life? Of course, and I am thankful to have a place to simply be me...Because what you see here, in my posts, is actually me.

Thank you for reading and my apologies for not having Twitter to share this on. I understand this initiative is in place to help promote steem and that this post doesn't do a very good job at that, or probably meet the criteria even, but the words work for me and so I wrote them.

The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking. - Albert Einstein.

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Tomorrow isn't promised - Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default
_{An original post written by a human
Discord: galenkp#9209} 🇦🇺

_{Image is Clovelly, in Devon, UK, taken by me}