Steemfest here I come? Need your help though!

EDIT 3: I didn't win @quinneakers contest unfortunately! But we will keep on trying in the other contests!

EDIT 2: I'm trying my luck in several ongoing contests, I really hope to meet all of you there at Steemfest and I can't wait to start this hitchhiking adventure! I will use this top part of the post for the links to contests that are still ongoing and that I'm participating in, if you see others, feel free to nominate me if you think I deserve it!!

• https://steemit.com/steemfest/@zeartul/contest-1-win-a-free-ticket-to-steemfest-2017-at-lisbon

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Why am I doing this?

I've really wanted to go to Steemfest from the moment it came on my radar, but I'm currently not in the strongest financial position to afford so (due to starting a failed business which has put me considerably in debt for someone my age (I'm 23 years old))! So I tried to put it out of my mind, but that little innervoice kept whispering: "go go gooooo!"

After reading the post from @anomadsoul about going to the Steemfest festival from Mexico. I noticed he was flying into Brussels, Belgium first! After which he will hitchhike his way to Lisbon. Being a vivid hitchhiker myself living in Belgium, I gave in to the innervoice, contacted @anomadsoul (we're working together on the Steemit Worldmap) and 5 minutes later it had been decided! We're doing this!

Now here is the issue: I don't have a ticket to go to Steemfest yet, nor do I have the financial options to get it at the moment. Either way, I'm doing the trip: worst case, I'm still able to do some extreme budget traveling for a while (which I love), best case I'm able to win a ticket in one of the ongoing contests or get enough rewards on this post to get it myself!

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Why would you support me?

I will take this chance to do a short introduceyourself post! I came to Steemit on the 12th of July, 2017! As a new member, I loved the idea behind the platform, but I was fairly skeptical. Now we're three months down the line and I can proudly say: this is hands-down the best online community I have been a part of.

My Steemit-journey started with me sharing some of my poetry and a short story of ending up with a rickshaw in Berlin. For those of you who want to read it: First poem on Steemit, Ending up with a rickshaw in Berlin. I quickly found my way to the PAL discord group and honestly, this is where I discovered the real power of Steemit. People were and still are getting connected and helping one another with all kinds of different subjects, and up until today it still amazes me!

During one of the days in the discord chat, I felt it was time to start working on my novel. The one I had been postponing for forever! There is a channel in PAL that helps out writers, with amazing editors pointing out where you totally messed up, haha! I'm very thankful for them, my writing has improved tremendously in the span of a month. I had never expected this to happen. My novel is currently on hold again, as I'm focusing on the Steemit Worldmap and am trying to get a grip on life! But for all of you who would still like to read the start of it: When the road calls #1. This also became my first successful post on Steemit and it would not have been possible without the editors!

On to the last lap of my Steemit-story so far! Enter Steemit Worldmap! After finding so much support from the community, I felt the need to give something back. Steemit worldmap became that. I wanted to make a worldmap to which people could automatically add their Steemit posts! I timidly reached out to @blueorgy (being the little minnow I am) and told him about the idea. He immediately jumped aboard. Once again, I was amazed by the willingness of the community to help. After a good two weeks of coding we pushed our beta version live. Now we're six weeks and almost 500 posts on the map further with a fully working product. For those who want to learn more, you can find all the information in the introduction post!

I can not wait what other adventures Steemit will guide me through, but I'm caught up on it alright! Maybe I could become a guest at the MSP-waves radio? Who knows!

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The trip

@anomadsoul will fly into Brussels, after which we'll meet up in Ghent. On the 26th we will leave from Ghent hitchhiking our way south. First stop Barcelona! Second stop Steemfest in Lisbon! After which we will return to Belgium, hitchhiking once again!

HUGE THANKS TO EVERYONE READING THIS!