Day 0

It was exactly one week ago, on a Wednesday, that a small notification on my laptop’s top right corner of the screen notified me of the existence of Steemit. I read the article about Steemit, but I didn’t consider joining. I have always thought, “If it is too good to be true, it probably is”. Stupid thinking!!!! But, although I didn’t join that very day, somewhere inside me, grew a curiosity. A very strong curiosity. It had left me with an impression. Questions. Could it be?

Day 1 

Fresh day. Normal day. I went about with business as usual. But something was different. A voice inside my head kept on telling me to check Steemit out. What was the harm in checking it out? “DO IT!!”, commanded the voice. Eventually, I gave in. At around 3pm, I went to the website, read about it, and actually signed up. I still remember my very first reactions. Overwhelming. More questions. What is a Cryptocurrency? What is a Steem Dollar? Steem Power? Steem? Whale? Is this real? Was I living in a cave for the past year? Had I missed something? (I literally felt like Samwell Tarly when he finally arrived at the Citadel.)

Anyways, after reading numerous “posts for newbies”, I familiarised myself with the terminologies. And I thought, well, I will learn more as I go. So with that, I made my first post. And then, the second. I had already written these two articles for my blogging website, so it was easy to post them here. Then, I discovered that one has to have an "introduceyourself" post. So I wrote that. One thing that was immediately clear to me, was that it was a place unlike any other. I mean, the reactions from other people on my posts were proof enough. They were positive! There were no trolls in sight! I felt safe. :)

What I learned: There was something called a cryptocurrency and blockchain technology and Steemit leveraged both for it’s site.

Day 2 

Day 2 began very early for me. The reason was simple. I couldn’t sleep well last night. How could I? I was so excited!! As soon as I woke up, I dived head first into Steemit. I read a lot of posts. I understood. I learned. I discovered. My estimated value had more than doubled overnight. And my Steem Power grew by 0.552!! I was in heaven. With a smile on my face, and excitement in my soul, I posted one of my youtube videos. The whole day I was in front of my laptop. Like literally!!

Later that day, I received my first payout. Frankly, I was mesmerised. Totally hooked! I realised the huge potential that Steemit had for normal people like me. I watched other people’s progress and saw them earning enormous amounts of money. “That is really cool”, I thought to myself. But more than the money, I was really impressed by the community power. The Positive Environment. Because, Steemit is designed in such a way that negativity is neither encouraged nor rewarded. It is together that everyone moves forward. Oh, and yeah! I also took part in the giveaway that @Steemship was doing in one of his posts.

What I learned: More about Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Steem, etc and how they are converted to one another), More terms used on Steem. More how-tos. 

Day 3

By now, I had understood a lot of things. I had done a lot of research on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology and was familiar with most terms used on Steem. So, I thought to myself that I will be serious about posting stuff and thus, posted my first $1 post. It was a photoshopped photo of me which I had done a few years back. Steem Power was growing as usual and I was enjoying my stay. I was loving this ride of my lifetime! Saw @guerrint make $30k for her post! "Good for her", I thought.

So there I was in the middle of another post when suddenly, the site went down for maintenance. “It will be back soon enough”, I thought. So I waited. 5 minutes had passed. 20 minutes, 50! Then 2 hours. Steemit was still not on. Really felt frustrated. “I was in the middle of a post, goddamit!”, I said out loud, but realised that there was no one around! LOL. 

After much waiting, I felt like I had lost a part of myself. I realised just how much into steemit I was. “Am I addicted?” I asked myself. “No”, I replied back. Even if it was, it was not a bad one. We are all sharing knowledge. Sharing our stories. Making money. Changing lives. Meeting people. Creating a community. Something that has the power to change the lives of people for the better, could not be bad. 

What I learned: Good addictions are sometimes, OK!

Day 4

Steemit was back up again and I felt relief. But then I read the security announcement that Steemit was the subject of a hack but the hackers were quickly subdued and everything was fine. So, I quickly checked my wallet. Everything  was intact. I was glad that the problem was quickly noticed and dealt with without causing major harm. It could have been worse. 

So, I went about happily browsing posts, having fun. It was a weekend and I was feeling relaxed. I found that the content available was better than other social network platforms. Also, I did a second photoshop post which would go on to be my first $5 post! :)

What I learned: We must tread lightly, 'cause the eyes of the world were upon us and there are some really bad ones out there! 

Day 5

Was busy elsewhere. Couldn’t really do much on Steem.

What I learned: Nothing! LOL :P

Day 6

BIG DAY! Remember that giveaway I told you about which @steemship was doing? Guess what? I was one of the lucky winners. I got $22 SBD!!! Have you ever hurt yourself while jumping with joy? I can add THAT to my list!! hehe!

So naturally, I made a tribute post for him, which went on to be my first $10 post!

Also, I drank my first Steemit cup of coffee. Yes, I enjoyed coffee with the money I had earned on Steemit!

Later that day, I began writing a huge original piece that I had been wanting to do for a long time. It took me 3 hours to write. And I uploaded it as fast I could. But I made a major mistake! I uploaded it at the wrong time. Yes! Apparently timing is everything on Steemit. I really thought it would do very well but, it didn't. It was disappointing. 

What I learned: Sometimes good content doesn't do well at all!

Day 7

I brushed off my disappointment from a day earlier and got back to work. It was at this point, that my TRUE LOVE (my love for creating content) said to me, “Just do it”. For a second there, I thought Shia LaBeouf was talking to me! LOL

How could I resist my true love AND Shia!! So, I sat down and wrote 3 more posts! And it felt good. Not because they did well or anything. But because I felt like I had finally matured, and had began managing my  expectations. Yes, Steemit is a great place. But it is NOT a "get rich fast" scheme. We are planting a tree here. The fruits take time to bear. What we are building here, is a keeper. And TIME will surely tell.

What I learned: Patience is a virtue.