WOW a lot has happened in 90 days

When I got on Steemit 90 days ago, I did not envision things taking this path for me. My Steemit journey thus far has been amazing.

My first post here was my introductionyourself post and it made 25 cents. Then my next 14 posts combined made a total of 10 cents. Most people would get discouraged at this point, but I reminded myself that through Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, I haven't made a penny from any of that even though I was basically doing the same thing.

^{Photo taken by me @derangedvisions}

This was about the time that I started to learn that I was approaching Steemit totally wrong. I realized that I didn't know anyone on the platform, so how could anyone know who I was? I needed to branch out and become involved with the community here.

That was when I found the Minnow Support Project discord. I met some pretty cool people there and began to branch out. @crimsonclad directed me to the Military Veterans discord where I have met some awesome people.

I came across the @underground and the @mbc-meps program. During that time Undie and I have become friends and all of us in the Minnow Boot Camp are doing what we can to try and help out the new members of the Steemit Community by teaching them all sorts of topics from using tags properly to structuring your post using markdown and making it look the best as possible.

^{Photo taken by me @derangedvisions}

I have had a few visits from the @curie fairy for my War-Torn film and for my various photography posts. My first @curie vote was monumental for me in wanting to continue with this platform. Everyone within the @curie project are working nonstop to find content on the platform that is deserving of recognition and rewards the authors very generously. You should definitely consider casting a vote for @curie as a witness so that the project can continue to reward authors on this platform.

I joined Steemit as a photographer and wanted to share my photography with as many people as possible, so I entered my stuff in a few of the photography contests. I came across @czechglobalhosts and his amazing daily contests that he runs and began to take part in the ones that I was able to. I was also taking note on all of the photo contests that I was seeing on the platform and trying to figure out how all of them were structured.

I joined the @cryptoempire and became friends with many of the members in there. @spiritualmax, @maverickinvictus, @foxyspirit, and the rest of the crew there are awesome.

^{Photo taken by me @derangedvisions}

In the Military Veterans server, I have come to know @guiltyparties, @basicstoliving, @rakkasan84, @jackmiller, @wolfhart, @inthenow and some of the other veterans there. They are all a great group of people and help make my time on Steemit so awesome.

Last month I was asked to take part in the @photogames as one of the Photo Stars. @photogames is a photography contest/game that was created by @jarvie, @derekkind and @caseygrimley. Since I took part in the first one, I was invited back and have become friends with the other photographers in there like @alevaskye, @dmytrokorol, @intrepidphotos, @jpphotography, @fotostef, @itchyfeetdonica, @themonkeyzuelans, @bil.prag, @r00sj3, @soyrosa and others.

About a month and a half ago I started the process to get into The Alliance. This was one of the smartest decisions I made early on in my Steemit adventure. During the first week or so I was with them, I went through a rigorous "school program" where teachers pick apart your posts and show you where you can improve. This was huge for me because it gave me the tools to make my posts appear more professional, even though they were still being written by me. The Alliance family has been great. @enginewitty, @c0ff33a, @snook, and all the other people there are awesome.

Deranged Photography Contest

These past 2 weeks have been crazy for me. When I was observing some of the photography contests here on the platform, I noticed one common theme among them. There were a lot of people entering in the contests from all skill levels but it seemed like the same 10 professional photographers were winning them. So I decided that I wanted to create my own contest and make it an even playing field for everyone.

^{Photo taken by me @derangedvisions}

One thing that I am really looking forward to with this platform is the service opportunities and helping people from all over the world that are less fortunate. I want to be able to provide some sort of a reward to everyone that participates in my contests, from paying out the winners of the three tiers of photographers, to upvoting all of the entries in the contest.

I have some amazing sponsors for the contest. @czechglobalhosts, @pfunk, @arcange, @guiltyparties, @ats-david and the rest of the @steemcleaners team have been instrumental in helping to make the contest happen. Without their help, the contest would not be possible.

Since the contest launched, I have been overwhelmed with the amount of amazing entries I have received. My goal is to become the largest photography contest on the platform and be able to reward people of all skill levels from all over the world. As the value of my vote goes up, the rewards will go back to the participants.

If you are interested in joining the Deranged Photography Contest discord and stay up to date with the themes and contest, you can join here:

https://discord.gg/MpWstp2

Summary of growth

When I joined Steemit 90 days ago, I was given 0.5 Steem and a delegation of 14.5 from Steemit to be able to function. As I grew and learned more about the platform and how it operates, I became fascinated with the potential that it can provide people all over the world. I was telling my wife that I want to get to a point where my account is valued high enough that we can travel around the world and use funds from Steemit to build and repair orphanages in the poverty stricken areas, and then make posts showing everyone on the platform what they are helping to support.

^{Photo taken by me @derangedvisions}

90 days after joining I have accumulated 936 Steem Power. I have delegated 100 SP out to support the Military Veteran community and I have been delegated 250 SP. I am in it for the long haul and these first 90 days are just my beginning here. I am looking forward to the future here on Steemit and doing what I can to help make the world better with it.

Thank you for stopping by and reading this long winded story. You are awesome for sticking it out.

My first 90 days on Steemit | Ecency