Newbie who knows NADA powered down for first time...

...then says "What have I done"? Long story short, as crypto goes, so does Steem. Now, I have not really done anything noteworthy here on Steemit, but I got lucky and won some steam on a couple contests, but curation and fresh content have been the bastard stepchild of my mini stash.

Having said that, I realised that I have probably finished powering down, which means my "influence", laughing at that term still, has been monetised and I have tokens. So I sit with just over (currently, mind you) a grand (US) in my account in Steem. Wow! What did I do for this? Not really anything. So what is the market saying about this??? Not much of anything either...

How can someone end up with MONEY through no real effort of his or her own? No idea. But I've done it. Does this seem to good to be true? No. Does it seem like something that can continue? No. BUT - and that's a big butt...

Timing is everything. Congrats to those who became entranced in the community. I haven't, but I have been watching and playing from a distance. I have learned why crypto is working. It is because at large, people reject centrality and those in charge of protecting it. As a result, the blockchain has nowhere to go but up. And so it has.

There will be corrections, but at the end of the day, it's here to stay. I feel that. After a total of 10 months in the community. I am going to double down and be all I can be, and let off a little Steem in the process.

Thank you to all who have upvoted me, thank you to all the purveyors of fun contests, and thank you to the community at large because you have helped me better understand why we are all here. And that's about all I got for ya, but I know it's enough to dust off the chair I sit in and stick it out.

Much love.

JP