This is a post without pictures.

It's not pretty. It does not attract that many people. It is virtually guaranteed a minuscule payout.

If that's the case, then why am I doing this?

I want to demonstrate to you how currently living without my smartphone affects my Steemit career. 

Back when I had a smartphone, I could take pictures of class handouts, written notes, and announcements on the bulletin board with ease. It also doubled as my own personal boombox, with its memory filled to the brim with different genres of music (which I admit may have contributed to its measly lifespan of 8 months in my possession). I could create unlimited combinations of alarms to wake me up in the morning and during my siesta. Simply put, having a smartphone with me provided me with a handy tool that was perfect for trekking around our modern world of digital necessities and unbelievably quickened work ethics. 

Ever since it broke, I found myself in situations where I had limited opportunities compared to the more fortunate people around me. 

I think you know the feeling of watching the sunset, stumbling upon a cool animal, or simply being around with your friends, but not being able to capture the moment through a camera. I know that feeling very well. In fact, I have taken zero pictures with my friends because I don't have the power to do so, and if I am ever included in any pictures with other people, it's either the pictures were taken by my friends or my colleagues. 

While my fellow classmates in college have the luxury of snapping away pictures of the lecture slides and any examples written on the board, I have no choice but to be quick in putting pen to paper during every class, sometimes ending up with incomplete notes and reminders. 

Although I have a laptop where I keep my music and important digital things to study, nothing beats having a smartphone tucked in your pocket, readily available for use.

Despite not having a smartphone, I've been blessed to still be able to study properly and appropriately adjust my decisions to keep up with the pace of this world that we live in. Even if I have no high quality pictures taken by myself that can be used at my disposal, I was able to make do with lifting pictures from the internet to insert in my posts. Most of all, I cannot fathom how fortunate I am that even without a smartphone to use in blogging, I was able to earn 7 SBD and counting over the span of two months. There is no doubt in my mind that this is clearly the mercy of God doing its work.

My advice for you?

1) Don't underestimate posts without pictures. There will always be a chance that despite the lack of images, its content can exceed expectations. 

2) Even so, use pictures while you can. About 70% of posts online attract larger audiences when it has at least one picture in it. 

3) Keep trying and be sincere in your intentions. Even if some of your posts have a low payout, even if your Steem Power and SBD doesn't grow as fast as you'd like it to be, a moment is all it takes for God to grant you success in the midst of your toil and perseverance. 

Thanks for reading! More to come.

Take care,

Jesse Mar