Hello Steemit!

My name is Peter William and I'm super new to this platform!

Thus far I've really enjoyed the content and opportunities that Steemit offers and thus I feel ready to officially immerse myself into the community!

I'm really interested in authentic communication, and thus today my introduction will follow along that theme. I'd like to share some fun things about myself, but also provide a bit of depth and reveal the parts of myself that aren't often exposed.

At first it seems kind of intimidating but ultimately, that is the vibe & value I seek to bring to this community.

So with that being said, let's start with some of the fun stuff!

Some things I'm excited about:

Okay so besides the obvious (crypto, steemit, cannabis legalization)...I'm super excited about these things:

Improv Connection Community Group
For the past three years I've been leading free community improv classes here in Austin. One of the classes I lead is called "Best Friends & Belly Laughs." It's a ton of fun - I like to describe it as "kindergarten for adults." Currently we host 1-3 classes a week and I'm in the process of offering city-wide programming to children and adults!

Cycle Up Project
Cycle Up is an interactive internet community project that I recently started to encourage new experiences, extract knowledge from those experiences, and then apply the knowledge via creative expression. The group is super new (like literally a week) but it officially starts Dec 1st so feel free to join!

PS: If you have any ideas for how this would work on Steemit, I'm all ears. There's a part of me that feels like Steemit might be a better platform for this kind of creative project

Monday Night Hype
Myself and a few good friends produce a Live Improv & Hip Hop Show in Austin TX (similar to Saturday Night Live) called Monday Night Hype. This is exciting to me because it's something I've put a ton of time and effort in over the past two years...and it's finally starting to gain some momentum. Our goal is to have the show streaming live by the end of this year!

Something I do in my spare time...

I'm a big fan of Hearthstone. It's a mix between Poker and Pokemon, two of my favorite card games growing up. This month my goal is to reach the rank of legend (I'm currently at rank 1), which is surprisingly difficult to do! Feel free to add me if you play: "axios#1585"

Something strange about me...

I am one of the few people in the world who have attended undergraduate and graduate school for a total of 6.5 years and have no degree to show for it. This is exactly why I'm passionate about restructuring the educational system. In the end, not receiving the degrees (as it was my choice) was the best decision I ever made.

Something unfortunate that taught me a life lesson...

For the past ten years my family has been going through significant financial struggles. My parents lost the home we had growing up and most of our possessions along with it. It's been incredibly straining on me and my family but it has taught me to truly appreciate the little things in life. It's so interesting what happens when you lose everything...suddenly then everything that you gain becomes so valuable. This experience alone has shown me how to truly live and embrace the beauty of life. I'm grateful for every day I am alive and it is this mindset that allows me to hone great courage and strength every single day.

Something that I'm often afraid to share...

I'm polyamorous. The word literally means "many loves". So essentially, I'm in a committed, open relationship, which may develop into more intimate relationships. I like to call it decentralized dating (although it's not always structured this way). I discovered I was poly after finding myself in numerous long term relationships that always ended with me feeling sexually "cut off". Once I began exploring this new relationship structure, the dis-easing feelings immediately vanished. I didn't start practicing poly until last year. It's been (by far) one of the most challenging things I've ever experienced (and also the most fulfilling). I'm excited and grateful for the opportunity to pursue it with my best friend and primary lover, Dani (and of course a few others along the way lol). Sometimes I'm afraid to share this part of myself because of its taboo nature, but as time goes on and I acquire more experience, I'm beginning to feel more and more comfortable sharing this part of myself.

Something crazy I did recently...

A month ago I led an improv class in a women's prison for a group of women labeled as sex offenders. It was an incredibly fulfilling experience. We were laughing and having such a great time that I completely forgot that I was even in a prison! The women absolutely loved the class and it's definitely something I want to do in the future!

Something I'd like to offer to the Steemit community...

This probably sounds cliche, but in the end, what I truly have to offer is my own unique perspective. After life's trials and tribulations, I can full heartedly say that there's no way anyone could see the way that I see, as no one has walked in my shoes. I feel the same about the world around me, that's why it's so fascinating! So with that being said, my intention is to share inspiration, positivity, creativity, curiosity, support, connection, and laughter (and likely much more that I have yet to discover!).

Something I'd like to receive from the Steemit community...

Since I'm quite new to cryptocurrency and a variety of other things going on in the blockchain world, I'm definitely interested in soaking in as much knowledge as I can from the myriad of intelligent beings on here. Every day I learn something new here, and that's truly exciting to me. I'd also like to discover new ways of connecting and sharing with the many unique and talented people that dwell here. When I first joined Facebook I quickly grew a huge network of people who were outside of my local realm, and I ended up meeting a variety of those people in person. It'd be great to establish Steemit relationships that also manifest in the real world (whichever one that is).

So that's it! Feel free to ask me anything, I'm an open book! Or just say hi :)

Have an amazing day Steemit!

Wishing you the very best,

~ PW