WHY I AM STILL HERE?

I've been on the steem blockchain for over 2years. It's been a roller coaster of a journey. I have had good times, bad times, and times when I wanted to quit so bad (but i never did). There were times I just posted even when I didn't see much of a future in the blockchain. So to the big question: why am I still here? But before I got into that I will like to give a brief backstory on why and how I came here in the first place.

Around the first quarter of 2018, I joined steem through a friend (who isn't on the blockchain anymore). He sold me the steem incentive--get paid for writing. I had never heard of such before, so i was both sceptical and curious. The few people I knew who were earning from writing were freelancers slaving away on Fiverr or one writing syndicate. I had been writing on my blog for free for many years and this was a unique opportunity to earn some money, so i decided to give it a short. Then he started talking about cryptocurrency and exchanges that got me all confused but I still jumped on it because I needed the money then.

I came for the money and stayed for more money.

I arrived here when steem was about $2. It was an utopia for content creators. There were bubbly communities all over the place. There were people actually living off their steem earning and that was an exciting possibility for me. Then being a minnow was such a lofty thing, I wasn't even dreaming of becoming one because I was earning steem in decimals but it was still substantial regardless. Then the bear wave come and took that all away. However, people like myself saw it as an opportunity to grow our account and influence within our various communities. I believed steem would raise again, at least that was the dream that was been sold to every redfish at that point. So I kept posting.

We hit rock bottom

The price of steem steeped even more, Steemit almost got bankrupt, many people left, everyone was point fingers. At some point, I genuinely felt the blockchain would stop running. Most witnesses weren't breaking evening but we manage to put our house together and we stand strong regardless of our current size.

So why did I stay?

First of all, I enjoy writing/creating content. It's not a hobby I picked up two years ago when I joined steem. I see a lot of folks struggle to create content but that has never been the case for me. I have been writing for the past 10years. My oldest blog is about 12 years old. Around that period I joined a community called poetry soup. You can still find some of my badly written poems on there. So writing has always been my thing and I did it for free for the longest time until I found steem, one of the reasons I do not take any penny I earn here for granted. It is still very much a gift and an opportunity to be part of something amazing as steem.

Secondly, steem saved my life. Some of you who have been following me for long would know how 2018/2019 was a very difficult period in my life. I graduated from uni and lost my father at the same point. All I was earning at that point was from steem and it enabled me cater for my household. It was difficult but I wouldn't have had it easy anywhere else. Also, it was a therapeutic period sharing some of my deepest thoughts and having people support me. I do not take such things for granted and that's one of the reasons I am still committed to the steem blockchain and when I do have the opportunity, I like to engage people outside the steem ecosystem about the amazing things going on here.

Thirdly steem has an amazing community--a dedicated group who have fought for this blockchain and kept it running amidst several challenges. This happens to be my greatest confidence in the blockchain. Everything could go to shit and there will still be people here posting, building, and engaging. It is hard to explain the passion for this projet but it has stood the test of time and i strongly believe all the hardwork will payoff at some point.

It is my belief that if ever the steem coin plummets we will a massive influx of creativity and innovation. To have come this far with little resources at the disposal of builders and developers says a lot about the future of steem. I want to stick around to see that happen. While I wait, I try my best to enjoy the experience

We all have different needs, expectations, and ideas of what the steem blockchain should be. Some of such needs have been met while some haven't. I never joined the steem blockchain to become rich, although it's still a possibility. For me, it has always been a dream to take my craft to the next level, which hasn't been my priority for the past two years and I am hoping that changes soon. I have gained immensely from the steem blockchain and it is my desire to continue contributing to the growth of the blockchain in my own capacity.

You can be part of this amazing community of creators, builders and developers. With just a few easy steps you can create a steem account and explore the steem blockchain.