How Has Steem Impacted My Life

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Well, to be honest, Steem has become an essential part of my life. Not a single day goes by when I don't take part in steem related activities. I was on Instagram when I saw an ad about steem and it caught my attention. I, immediately, joined steemit in July of 2017 which is about 2 and a half years ago and as I have stated in my previous posts, I had no idea what steemit was and how it worked. I was of the notion that we can earn money here and that's the main reason I joined steemit. For the first few months, I was clueless for the first few months until @utopian-io was launched in the last quarter of 2017. I started contributing to open source projects and while doing so, I kept learning more about the steem ecosystem. I was able to earn some money by posting on steemit and by working as a moderator at utopian.

Money Knocked At My Doors

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It took me a few months to understand what steem was and once I did, I fell in love with steem simply because I was making money. I graduated in the month of September 2017 and therefore, I had plenty of time, most of which was spent on Steemit. I started spreading the word about steem to my friends. To my knowledge, I was only the fourth user in Kashmir Valley which has a population of about 8 million people. I knew that spreading knowledge about steem will benefit me in the long run( Yeah, I was being selfish). The price of steem was rising with each passing day and there was a time when I was making hundreds of dollars in a single day. In the meantime, I brought close to 100 new users to steem and most of them started making posts on a consistent basis. I belong to a modest family, therefore, any money that I was making was a blessing for me and my family.

The Dark Phase

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Soon after the highs of January 2018, the price of steem started to dip. We had created a dedicated group on discord for the people of Kashmir which had around 80 odd members and I used to receive daily messages from the members complaining about the price of steem. Many of our members stopped posting and the number of active members kept decreasing as the price of steem was dipping. I tried my best to make them stay but all I could give them was hope that someday the prices will rise again but steem kept dipping. Finally, the day came when all the members left and the group was reduced to two or three active users. All this had a negative effect on me as well and I also thought of leaving steem at that point of time.

The Real Happiness

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When I thought of leaving steem and stopped posting for a few days, I got that feeling that something was missing from my life, little had I known that I had fallen in love with steem and this time it was not because of money. It was because of the fact that being active on steem had become my passion. Now, the price of steem didn't matter for me as I loved what I was doing. The most incredible part of my steem journey is the fact that I became a local steem hero for the people of the Valley of Kashmir. Most of the people still call me and tell me how grateful they were just because I gave them a way to gain financial freedom even if it was short lived. I happened to save some money for myself which I used for my higher studies. Apart from this, friendships happened. I made some friends here on steem and that wouldn't have happened if I was not on steem. I can proudly say that I have friends from almost every part of the world. I spend around 2-3 hours on steem daily, not because I am earning a lot here but because I love being here and reading the posts. I would have been more active but because I am preparing for a very tough exam, it's very hard for me to spend more time.

The Hardships

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However, my steem journey is not as simple as most of the people here. I live in Kashmir and maybe most of you might be aware of the situation in Kashmir. Kashmir witnesses the most number of internet shutdowns in the world, therefore posting regularly is impossible if you live in Kashmir. The latest shutdown of internet was enforced on August 5 2019 and still there are no signs of resumption. I remember the days when I used to travel miles on foot only because I had to post on Steemit. My friends say that I am crazy about steemit and maybe I am but nothing can replace my love for this platform.
I have never travelled to a foreign country but I got a chance to visit Italy in 2018 for the utopian meetup. But because I was a Kashmiri, I was denied a visa and hence lost the only opportunity that I got so far. But this opportunity was created because of steem and I am still grateful to steem for that.

Positive Mindset

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Despite these hardships and lack of time, I still come out here daily doing my thing because I have lot of hopes from steem. I am of the opinion that the time will come when steem will rise to glory and people around the world will jump in. It will surely be a proud feeling watching people pounce on what I already have for a long time. I am hopeful that the price will start rising soon so that I can bring my community back and be their hero again.

My journey on steem has been like a rollercoaster ride so far with highs and lows but the weight of the highs is far far greater than that of lows. I really cherish the moment when I decided to join steem. Steem has taught me a lot about life as well for which I am grateful.

Someone has beautifully said that I love you till one of us dies. That is my relationship with steem.

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