Man, it is hard to believe that I have been here on the blockchain for five years now. It sure has been a crazy time and I have done so much during that time and met some of the coolest people.
I joined Steem back in January of 2018. It was basically right after the crypto market collapsed back then. I joined Steem because I had heard about a way to share your photography on a social media site and earn crypto in the process.
It was pretty slow going for me back then and I spent a ton of time networking and getting involved with different projects. After a month of consistent posting and sharing my photography and stories, I made about a total of $1. It wasn't until I started sharing my pictures from the safari I went on in Tanzania and started sharing more of those stories that I really started to do better. All that work was finally beginning to pay off. You can check out my massive post about my safari here African Safari Adventures.
Then I shared my documentary film I had created and it got the attention of Curie and some other curation projects. This film is about a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam war. He talks about losing everyone onboard the helicopter as he flew in to save a group of Marines that were pinned down by the enemy. During the film, he is reunited with one of the Marines he saved that day and he talks about his struggles with PTSD. It is probably one of my favorite works that I have ever done.
During my time here on the blockchain, I have been lucky enough to travel to different parts of the world to meet up with members of the community. Steemfest 3 in Poland was such an amazing experience. I had always wanted to be able to visit Auschwitz, and being a part of the blockchain gave me that opportunity.
Poland was my first Steem meetup and I met some really amazing people. We had some great times getting streetfood between presentations and just getting to know people better.
Steemfest 4 in Thailand is one of my greatest memories I have in my life. I was fortunate enough to travel there with my wife so she could meet a bunch of my friends that I had made over the years.
During Steemfest 4, I was able to help showcase some artwork created by the members of our community. It was so cool seeing the work of these great artists on display in Bangkok.
Thailand is a magical place that my wife and I really hold dear in our hearts. This trip helped my wife let go of so many things that she had been holding onto and look forward to the future. We were lucky enough to be on the beach in Pattaya during the lantern festival. It was such an amazing experience and I am glad that my wife and I could be there together for it.
During my time on the blockchain, I have shared many pictures of my pets and many of you have been able to watch them grow up since they were just tiny babies. I remember when I began sharing pictures Rusty and he stole the hearts of many of you.
Rusty has grown into such a special cat. He is one of the most loving animals we have ever had.
A few years ago, I was able to travel around the United States to create a book about the Civil War and Civil Rights.
The book sold a lot of copies and has gotten really great reviews. It was cool being able to show the process and all the work that went into creating this book and I am grateful to have a place like Hive to share it all with people from all over the world.
Hive has been an amazing outlet for me to share my creative works. I have met some of the most genuine people from all over the world here. The community is what makes Hive so great.
My first five years here have been so awesome and I can't wait to share more of my adventures. Thank you to everyone that has made my time here on Hive so memorable. You are all awesome!
