@theycallmedan has put forth this initiative which you can check out Here!

I can definitely say that Steem has changed my life for the better so I wanted to take part in this initiative and share my journey.

Before Steem

To express exactly how my life has changed I must try to explain my life before Steem.
When I was 16 I was struck with depression ... I say "struck" because it seemed to come out of nowhere ... like a light switch was turned off in my mind.
As the years went on the depression was also accompanied by anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, and agoraphobia.

I only left the house to go to work or get supplies.
I didn't take part in social media because of my massive social anxiety.
There was no way that I wanted to perform my music because I got anxiety even going to the store lol.

It sounds horrible, but I don't say it to try to gain sympathy ... just to give a background.
Looking back I can say that I'm much happier now, but humans have a great ability to adapt and make the best out of even the most miserable situations.

Joining Steem

So anyhoo, in May of 2017 The Husband, @swelker101, found out about Steem from watching a YouTube video where Andrarchy was talking about the Keto diet.
Shane made an intro post and made $38!
He was very excited and talked me into joining.
I wasn't very keen on the idea due to my social anxiety, but I was in the process of looking for a change in my life so I gave it a shot.
I made an intro post and made 7 cents!!! lol
It was only 7 cents, but I was still amazed that I could post something online that had a monetary value.
I didn't know anything about Steem or anything about Crypto at all.

Friends and Communities

I started posting every day and was having fun. I met really nice people who left positive and supportive comments, and then I met even more great people when I joined the Minnow Support Palnet Discord. As time went on more and more Discord communities started popping up like Helpie, The Ramble, The Alliance, Steem Chat, OCD, Atom Collector Records, and I've made some great friends along the way.

I even got to meet some of these lovely people at a Florida meetup in 2018.

Coming out of my shell

The more I posted, the more confidence I gained to share my music and more about myself.
I actually recorded videos of me singing and playing my music for Open Mic.
This alone was an amazing accomplishment for me and a huge source of personal growth since I was coming from a place of rarely sharing my music with anyone at all.

Projects

After posting for about 6 months I got involved with the Minnow Support project as a moderator and curator and I started running weekly contests to help other creative Steemians.
About a year later, @aggroed asked me to be on the Splinterlands team as the Director of Music.
I always wanted to compose music for film or video games and now I get to do that which makes me very happy!

After Aggroed developed Steem Engine I created Creative Coin along with @swelker101 and @derangedvisions, and also Sonic Groove along with @swelker101, @krystle, and @ausbitbank.

And now I am also a curator for OCD.

I think I've left something out here, but the point is ... I'm always here on Steem ... every day. It's a huge part of my life and it makes me feel accomplished and happy.

I Love Steem

Steem is so much more to me than just a cryptocurrency.
The community and the experience have helped me to grow as a person which in turn has allowed me to help others as well as make some great friends.

Steem will also hold a special place in my heart as my first and favorite Crypto community.