Me and Steem, me and WOX...

photo: (c) Bernhard Kilian

I am Heike from Germany, 56, a self-employed environmental technologist and mother of four adult children. I construct and install small-scale biological plants where end users, agricultural producers or small businesses do not need or want to be connected to the sewage system. My customers therefore live away from the infrastructure of residential areas. I commute from construction site to construction site all over Europe. Most of the time, I get to see wonderful areas and thus excellently serve my migratory bird or gypsy gene ;-)) I love being on the road! I also have a social phobia; I can't stand people around me. So this is where my vocation exactly meets my sensitivities and I've set myself up nicely in this way.

And then Corona came along. That led to worldwide measures that put a temporary end to my continuous travelling. There were no more assignments, cross-border commuting was no longer possible. I haven't worked since March last year. There was no support for me because without fixed running costs for business premises etc. I was not eligible for existing support funds. So I kept my head above water with occasional jobs and otherwise lived on reserves, the dwindling of which definitely caused me discomfort and sleepless nights. I got by, I didn't suffer from deprivation. But my purpose in life had suddenly become obsolete, my work was no longer feasible, my inactivity was partly paralysing and in general I felt only tied to a place (which I don't even like).

As a result, I could no longer write! This was new for me, because: I always write. For as long as I can remember, I have been processing everything I think, feel, experience into various texts. There are a few publications of mine - poetry books, reference books, a biography of my foster son... And I need this kind of creativity to free myself from mental turmoil, to sort out my plans and to give fears a name. I have never paused with this for more than a few weeks. I haven't put anything down on paper since my forced sedentariness... ;-((

Out of one of my Facebook groups, holiday against hand (which, by the way, was also abruptly no longer possible), I was made aware of Steemit. I was curious. After a first look and some enthusiasm, I created my own account in May 2021. First, I looked around in German-speaking communities and was very taken with the broad spectrum of topics dealt with, the open and mostly respectful discussion culture and felt welcome from the very beginning. Since language barriers should hold me back just as little as physical barriers in real life, other communities quickly became interesting to me as well.

Many cool people with exciting stories are on the move here. I am now very happy to be one of them. After several months of posting older texts that had been lying in drawers and files for a long time, the time had come last week: I posted my first new, up-to-date text. Of course I don't know yet if my blockade is finally overcome. But it feels good and hopeful. The multiple input here, away from my own environment and the so-called filter bubble, has definitely contributed to this. I am grateful for that.

I probably came to World Of Xpilar inevitably ;-)) One of the largest communities here (or even the largest?) with standards that suit me and contributions that prove open-mindedness and a broad horizon. To read and comment on for several weeks came my first own post here the lately. So I don't have a great history with WOX yet - but hopefully a future ;-))

All in all, I had a wonderful start on the Steem; after five months I'm at 2300 SP and have "established" myself, so to speak. It will continue, perhaps with interruptions, if there is a normal everyday life for me again at some point. But always with stories from real life, straight from the heart...