Making my way...to Steemfest! (Blocktrades /Writers Block Write Your Own Ticket Giveaway)

Well, I was going to write on a bigger story I'm doing for a fiction contest, but @anomadsoul's post sent my wheels spinning. So that is what happens when you miss a day on Steemit, huh?
I know, I know, this post is meant to recommend me, to possibly even help me get a Steemfest ticket and maybe it is not the wisest choice to begin it by telling you that I missed a day, right? Well, I did and although that's inexcusable, I agree, it was for a good cause. I stepped away for a second, but not from you.
I was stepping away from the noise and the phone ringing and Twitter notifications and everything else. And I was doing that because I needed to focus, I needed to settle down and write. I needed a few hours to be alone with my ideas and get them out of my head. And I did. My separation from the “real world” did wonders for my writing and I'm already halfway through with a longer story.
And that would not be possible without Steemit. How, you ask?

Well, I've said this before – I'd never be here if it wasn't for Steemit. I've seen ads for this contest for years and it's been on my mind, but at the end of the day, I never quite got around to it. Well, Steemit changed that, it made me move, it made me write and take it all seriously, something I must admit I didn't do before.
Steemit helped me like I didn't think it was possible. I'm writing everyday now and often, I'm writing both a personal post as well as some fiction in the same day, which for me is a huge step forward. It's amazing and I honestly wouldn't trade it for the world.
See, when I “met” Steemit, I wanted big things, but I lacked focus, I lacked motivation. And Steemit gave me that – it got me writing a lot, it helped me set goals.
Recently, I published my first book – a collection of short stories entitled 'Grimmest Things'. First, they were all written right here, so that should tell you something. Second, I am quite sure I wouldn't have done that if it wasn't for Steemit. Because this community showed me that I can do it. I can write and I can achieve all those big things I was too afraid of before.
I'm supposed to be telling you about @honeydue, yes, and I wonder how. How could I tell you about something that has become bigger than me, that has spun out of my control?

You know, when I was publishing the book (about two weeks ago, so a grand old time), a friend said something about me writing, the “real life me” and I told him that no, I'm not the one who's writing, I'm not the one who wrote the book. Honey did that. Honey Due wrote the book. Weird, I know, but it makes sense to me.

You want to know who Honey Due is for me? Well, she's the kid who could, she's the one who went after all those big things and she's someone who writes stories. And I love that.
But Honey Due wouldn't be here without the Steemit community, without all the wonderful people who have supported me and encouraged me or just plain talked to me. So I guess a better question is – who is Honey within the community?
Well, she's a freewriter, that's the easiest one I can tell you, because I'm not sure where else she fits. Where I fit. But I know I fit there, in the amazing community that @mariannewest and @improv and everyone else helped build. I've always been this huge introvert – I used to dislike talking to people and I had real trouble sharing stuff about me. Sometimes I still do, but not here. Not with the freewriters. They have taught me that I can bare my heart there, in front of them and that it will be okay.
I think they're the ones who taught me what a community was, what a group of people playing together could do. I was very lucky to find them.

Steemit got me into photography, too!

Then, there's the other Honey, the one who writes personal stuff, the one who can talk to you better and more honestly than I can talk to anyone else out here. I bare my heart when I'm writing fiction, yes, but also when I write about myself – about things that trouble me, worry me, annoy me, delight me. I can be honest here and again, I guess that's the community thing.

How does Steem impact your day-to-day life?

Good question, @anomadsoul, good question. I wish I could tell you all the ways that Steemit impacts my life, but I doubt I know them all. It gets me to write, I told you that, but my favorite thing is that I often find myself opening my mouth and going 'you know, I have this friend...' or 'there's this guy who says' and always, I'm talking about people here, on Steemit.
Truth is, I often talk about people I've met here like they were good friends. Because they are, in a way. I've met some that are no-bullshit, honest here, that show you who they really are through their thoughts and their stories and I've come to consider them my friends.
No idea if that is good or bad, but since I'd really like to get to Steemfest to meet some of them, at least, I hope it's good.

And finally, Steemfest3. Well, firstly, it's a challenge because I've never done this sort of thing before, never gone somewhere like that on my own and it's a bit scary, but I want to do it. I'm more sure of it than a lot of the things in my life right now.
I'd say the biggest challenge I'm facing about Steemfest is all the people. Weird, I know, but I like being in my shell. Given a choice, I probably won't come over and talk to you, but it's not because I don't like people. It's just that I'm more comfortable sitting in a corner, listening. And Steemfest means meeting a whole lotta people, so that's a bit scary too. But I want to do it, because these people have been my home for a year and they're probably the people who understand me the best, right now. So it seems only normal to go say hello.

I'm not going to lie, the financial side isn't exactly a breeze either, but I don't think that's worth mentioning as a challenge because I think a lot of us are facing this particular challenge in going to Steemfest3.
As for how Steemfest will help me well, I think it will help me make some friends, it will help me overcome my people-anxiety. I hope it will help me learn a thing or two about crypto and this crazy place we call 'blockchain'. As for the Steemiverse, I can't make any promises, but I do promise to learn some jokes and make a lot of Steemians laugh – we need a bit of that with all these red arrows in the markets, don't you think?

I've tried to do a decent job of this entry. I find it hard to explain why something is important to me, because in my head, it sounds really well and I get it, so I usually don't see a lot of reason why others should. It's enough that I know it's important. And Steemit is more important than I ever thought it would be.

If you'd like to try your luck with this awesome contest sponsored by @blocktrades, @anomadsoul and @thewritersblock, here is the link! Thank you to all the above mentioned for organizing this!
Good luck :)

Thank you for reading,