Decisions, decisions. Life is a series of them and out of the infinite range of choices, here we are today, just where all of those decision led. Most of the choices we make we are unaware of or barely aware of and many are made for us by others, circumstance or hard-coded into our DNA. How much credit can we actually take for our position, is someone to blame for a poor position if most of their lives the decisions were not theirs to make?

Meh, that can all be for another post. This post is for the #roadtosteemfest and prompted by @anomadsoul, the choices we have to make to get there. For me, there are many factors in play that are influencing my decisions and there are many obstacles to me actually making it but, I am determined and, I will work through the best I can.

Is it a sign?

That is my current (as of posting) reputation on Steem. As useless as that number actually is in terms of meaning anything on the platform, I feel that personally I have earned it and put in a great deal of effort to get to it, even though it wasn't intentional, I didn't aim for a reputation here. According to steemdb.com, my reputation places me in the 119th position, just above @pfunk. That tells something doesn't it? @pfunk has done a lot more for this platform than me, the reputation is relatively insignificant.

However, my account ID is 129,866 and the work it has taken me personally isn't insignificant and it was a decision to put that work in, it didn't just happen. Once I realised that this was an opportunity, I made a choice to give myself the space and put the effort into trying to build my account here and, help others do the same. I also have to negotiate my decisions with my family as it affects them too. It has been a rocky road but, it is getting there slowly.

As said, there are many choices that need to be made along my way to Warsaw but I made one a few days ago. There are several competitions running to get free tickets + accommodation sponsored by @blocktrades and I am sure there are more that will pop up. The @openmic one is here and the @writersblock one is here. I recommend that anyone thinking of going should enter and try to win their way there.

The devil's choice?

My choice is that, I am not going to enter any of the competitions for a ticket. It is not that I am likely to win them anyway but, I feel that just in case, I think that there are people who are both deserving and possibly in a position where it will help them more. It would be a welcome win but, Poland isn't too far from me and maybe it gives a little more space and opportunity for someone else. It is awesome that @blocktrades are sponsoring these and I am grateful to them for supporting me in the past so, I will use their past support to get my ticket when the time comes.

What I am hoping is that when I do attend Steemfest, there is the maximum amount of people there and hopefully, a diverse group who are looking to make Steem an increasingly important part of the internet infrastructure as well as a community of people who want to improve the world whether at a global or local level.

It is selfish of me as all choices are, for it is part of my way to protect my time and energy investment into the platform and the people here. As I see it, the more people who have opportunity to earn or win a lottery and have the chance to be more part of the community the better for us. These competitions aren't a lottery though, it requires actual content and people to DO SOMETHING for the chance, this should be a core of anyone wanting anything in life.

Community engagement

Both @writersblock and @openmic do a fantastic job of keeping their communities engaged and producing good content and I am hoping that the sponsored tickets will not only help their members but, raise awareness and attract new members to find them. If you do not know about these initiatives, please take the time to find out because you might find a new aspect of Steem, some great people and maybe a home.

As I see it, communities built as initiatives and the ones built around the Dapps and SMTs are going to be the driving forces behind Steem's future and no matter the problems we may face now, it will be the active and engaged communities that will continue to solve problems, attract and support members and create spaces where people like to spend their time. A large part of a positive or negative experience on Steem depends on who you spend your time with which is a good sign considering this is a social platform. There is still a ways to go in this regard, and many others.

The choice is clear

For me, the choice is pretty clear. No matter the obstacles, I keep working and doing what I do and what I can to get to where I aim to be. For now, that is SteemFest3 but at only one time, there are multiple points I need to reach and sometimes one can't be held with another. Each path however opens up an array of more choices and sometimes a road that seems to lead in the wrong direction can curl back and one can find themselves in surprising places. No matter where it all leads, we are always where choices seen and unseen have taken us.

Good luck to everyone taking part in the competitions and thank you to @anomadsoul, @blocktrades, @openmic, @writersblock and everyone else who is or will be involved for hosting and supporting the Steem community.

Now the biggest hurdle in my road is asking to go out to the park to play. Some choices are very easy to make.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]