@herpetologyguy's Steemit Goals: What The Heck Now?

10 months ago when I joined steemit I didn't think it would have much impact on my life. I joined at the insistence of my father, and since I prefer blogging to most other forms of social media, I agreed to at least try it. I was actually rather surprised how quickly I gained steam (pun intended!); after just a few posts I was pulling in some serious money, but more importantly, I was gaining more followers than I had on any other platform. People were actually quite interested in what I had to say and I was thrilled to share my experiences and knowledge with the steemit community.

Look at that grinning fool, completely unaware just how much this would take over his life!

So here I still am, 10 months later and still active. I just reached 300 followers earlier today (you guys are awesome!)and I am *almost* making more on here than I do at my actual job (not sure if I'm more proud of how much I'm making here or saddened by how little I make there!)! I still don't fully grasp the concept of cryptocurrency after these many months, but I believe that is due to the fact that I chose to remain blissfully ignorant and not look a gift horse in the mouth. With the help of the community and their encouraging comments and critiques I have come a long way, but now I have to ask myself, "what next?"

10 months of steemit and unchecked beard growth later.

So right now I have an account value of almost $11,000, which makes me feel as though I'm doing reasonably well. But as much as I enjoy logging in and seeing those figures, it still feels somewhat like imaginary money. There is no physical evidence and it just kind of sits there; sure I've pulled a little bit out here and there, but by and large those digits just seem like meaningless numbers on the screen. Sometimes the value goes up, sometimes it goes (way) down, but it doesn't feel like I'm looking at dollars and cents. And I think part of this has to do with the facts that, A. I never actually thought I'd be making much money to begin with, and B. I had no idea on what I planned to use those funds. 

So this got the gears in my brain going. What do I want to do with steemit? I came here with the goal of connecting with other users and sharing my experiences and I was met with great success. Now, as a result, I am making enough money to have a fairly substantial impact on my life as I keep steeming. But what would it go towards? We make enough to cover our mortgage and bills (with just a hint of wiggle room). We already have a growing college fund for our infant son. We even have enough to care for all the animals that occupy more living space of our home than we do. So with most everything covered, it seems as though I, for the most part, am saving up my money. But for what?

No one in the long history of money has ever looked that happy paying bills...

When I realized what it was I wanted to do with the funds I was almost embarrassed the thought hadn't come to me sooner. I could start collecting funds to go towards our two lifetime dream goals. "Lifetime dream goals? How did something seemingly so important not cross your mind before?" We've always lived very much in the present, financially, living mostly paycheck to paycheck as many these days do. So when the money began adding up, my brain wasn't geared towards the "long term plan". I wasn't used to thinking about how I wanted to spend money years in the future; it simply wasn't a luxury we could afford. But now I was bringing in a bit more money than I needed, meaning I was able to save up for something special. And that's when I was really grasping the true awesomeness of steemit; not only could I connect with an amazing community and spread awareness for the causes I care about, I was saving substantial money that could one day potentially fulfill what were once wild dreams. Steemit was slowly transforming from a hobby into a career move.

Okay, enough mushyness, @herpetologyguy, what are those big lifetime goals? Well I am so glad you asked, friend. The first, of course, has to do with reptiles and amphibians (who would have guessed?!). It has always been a fanciful dream of mine to open (or purchase) my own animal care facility with a focus on reptiles, amphibians, insects, arachnids...you know, the creepy critters that are generally misunderstood. Now I'm not imagining a full-on zoo here (though that would be awesome too!), but a modest sized privately owned facility that could take in rescues or unwanted animals and display them for public educational purposes. The notion started gaining traction a couple years back when two good friends of mine expressed interest in the idea, and we began formulating all sorts of ideas that we could incorporate into a future facility. We realized we wanted something different from what many facilities offer; we wanted to do away with walls, glass and other barriers where we could and get people closer to the animals (obviously without sacrificing animal or public safety! No small task, but not impossible!). We dreamed of creating a place that offered a feeling of seeing animals in their ecosystem as opposed to an obvious enclosure. Today, we are still crafting new plans and ideas and even working a couple possible leads to begin living the dream!

The second goal was actually originally my wife, @ellepdub 's, dream, but overtime I have become very attached to the idea. Just as I wish to continue on with my passion for reptiles, @ellepdub wishes to continue to grow hers, and we hope that we will be purchasing a farm in the (hopefully not too distant) future. Some people might say my wife has made her whole life about the farming lifestyle; after volunteering at a city park/farm in high school, she held an internship on a local farm during college (even running it solo for several weeks while the owners were on vacation) and since graduation has worked steadily as a farm hand at a local farm park (you know, one of those places with animals to pet, playgrounds, hayrides, etc). I've left a lot of the planning to her as this is definitely her forte, not mine, but I am eagerly awaiting the beginning of this new chapter. Where she sees a chance to continue on with her expertise, I see a chance to start fresh and learn entirely new things (I know a lot about reptiles, but I am not at all familiar with livestock or other aspects of farming). I also have to admit I'd be thrilled to get out of the city and live somewhere just a little quieter! 

If 'Inception' was real, this would be waiting for you when you entered @ellepdub 's dreams.

Lofty goals to be sure, but I'm starting to feel more optimistic about them. Yeah, the money I've made so far is a fraction of a drop in the bucket of what we would need to ever realize these dreams, but the very idea that we can now plan forward is a huge step. In just the last couple years, we've left student loan debts behind, we're paying off big expenses like our wedding and now looking outwards towards the rest of our lives. The road to achieving our dreams is going to be a long one, but steemit and its community have given me hope that they are within our capability to achieve. So take a good look at the funds you have collected here, whether is it $50,000 or $0.50...think about what you want to do with that one day, what those funds could become. What do you steem for?

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