I almost missed my Steemiversary. But before the sun sets on this first stage of a particularly eventful journey, I thought it important I do what I do best: capture it here.

 
      I'd say it's hard to believe the pretty blue marble I reference at the end of every post has spun three hundred and sixty five times since my Steemit account was approved, but truthfully, some days I feel dizzy enough that I know it's true. For someone who values the journey so highly, the path I've taken from the first day to this day on the platform has been a hike like no other. I thought I'd celebrate this milestone by pairing my experiences with a few of my favourite photos from over the course of the year. Each day I go a little more "all in" to STEEM in the ways I'm able to, and an unintended side effect of that is that going back through my own forgotten posts is its own little trip. I started out here exactly one year ago with sweet fuck all, and this technology and this community and these ideas have taken on lives of their own as I've started to grow. I hope that each of you who have found a place here feel pride as you go back through all of the awesome things you've accomplished and learned in your time, however long it has been.

I started out naive and playful, with a sense of wonder about the whole thing.

 
      I was never a big social media user, and I was never 'gutsy' or 'rich' enough to get into Bitcoin at the crucial time. I came to Steemit with the expectation that both of those facts would work against me. Discovering that interpersonal interaction, sharing, and encouragement were key, not to mention that I could earn without putting any capital in, I realized fairly quickly that this place would be inspirational. And even now, it's still pulling stories and images from me that I never imagined I would share. Though I'm posting a lot less these days in favour of other types of support work for the chain, I still get an incredible thrill from showing you this world through my eyes and reliving my own memories through yours. So thanks for that.

The challenges and opportunities have been vast, breathtaking, and daunting. There have been equal parts elation, satisfaction, anxiety, and disappointment.

 
      Learning to navigate the platform and the corresponding emotions, skills, and knowledge — with the global market, with the platform learning curve, with the rewards, with the people, and with my own abilities — is something that I'm still working on, even a year later. I don't think that will ever change, and despite that sounding discouraging, I'm actually incredibly grateful for it.

      When I look at my development in each of these facets, I'm incredibly proud of myself. I came to Steemit tentative but hopeful, with a nebulous idea of where I desired to go. I'll be the first to admit that the journey has shifted constantly along the way, and that this interim destination is already far beyond where I dreamed it would be. They've taught me to adapt, to trust my instincts and my heart, and to work hard as fuck in the ways that I personally value; to be determined and kind and stubborn and helpful until I can show that I've shaped this platform positively around me, even if sometimes I seem a bit crazy. The people I've met here have called me out on my shit, spurred me to learn and better myself, and encouraged me to give and receive more freely with the right expectations. So thanks for that.

I've been shit on. I've felt small. And I've soared.

 
      A month into my time on Steemit, I teamed up with good friend @followbtcnews, and we decided to begin witnessing. We didn't have a ton of money. We didn't have the hardware. We had a decent set of skills between us, but didn't have the chops to compete or contribute. We put our heads down and worked, learned, took some beatings, listened, adjusted, a few more beatings, built, failed, rebuilt, and the beatings continued until morale improved. It's been just under a full year, but we've been trusted enough to spend some time as one of STEEM's top twenty witnesses. We are proof positive that pushing and achieving can be done regardless of background, provided the mindset is there. We are also proof positive that a few shifting opinions could throw you for some serious roadblocks.

      You're going to find the same things on your own journey here, and those of you who find ways to keep rolling and keep contributing and coax the growth from the ashes are the ones who are giving the shit times in life a few beatings of your own. Morale is improving. So thanks for that.

More than anything, I marvel at how fast it all went, but how it's all frozen here for me to look back on.

 
       Permanent, transparent, unchanging, and immutable. My actions on this platform speak for themselves, and the experiences locked here in my words speak for me. Beyond the unshakable friendships and the unknowable potential, remembering that each time I record here it suddenly belongs to the whole world and belongs to a change in the way we approach entire components of our lives, I am glad I have stayed. Wherever you might be in your journey here, remember why you began exploring in the first place. It is wholly because of you — us — the creators, the consumers, the investors, the developers, and the dreamers.

So thanks for that.

 

These photos and words are my own work, inspired by travels all over this pretty blue marble of ours. I hope you like them. 🌶️

 

Hi, I'm Crimmi. I help run a top 20 STEEM witness with my project partner @followbtcnews. Feel free to reach out to us on Steem.Chat or Discord any time! If we haven't earned your vote, please consider SteemTipper, our work on Discord, and with STEEM.Chat — vote for followbtcnews if you feel we're doing a good job.