I mentioned earlier this month that I'll be turning 2 on the Hive blockchain. But then life happened and it slipped through my mind when the day arrived, lol! But thanks to Hivebuzz for the greetings and the beautiful greenish badge that came along with it.
This is one of the reasons why we have to support their proposal renewal. I don't know about you, but I think our journey and progress here is certainly more colorful, exciting, fun and documented because of these simple notifications that let us know of our lil achievements and milestones. Not to miss mentioning their initiatives like HP delegations to the PUM finishers and all others.
I digress but I'm just thankful and happy of our gamified experience here because of the work being done by the Hivebuzz team through the leadership of 
So 2 years ha! A Brief Background
Quite unbelievable if you ask me. Just to share a short rundown of how my Hive journey begun.
Whilst I created my account on-chain on the 20th of April 2021, my first post was made on 3rd August, a 216-word write up shared in the Photography community. Four (4) posts followed during that month.
I was an absentee in September and only came back once in a while in October but did better with 15 posts. Most of which were Actifit activities. My transactions (posting, commenting, replying etc) started to pick up in November 2021 after my intro post and I kept going since then to this very day.
What else happened?
I've traveled far and wide (mostly virtually), collected thousands of photographs and shared many, laughed and cried with others, had some sleepless nights and so much more. I've also shared a lot of my personal life stories which I've not been so comfortable doing on Web 2. Simply put, I'm growing better.
On the achievement side, that's where the Hivebuzz badges come into play as they record our milestones no matter how little they may seem to be. And this is how my humble progress is looking so far:
Dolphin with 9.885k Hive Power (no power down, not made any cash out)
Made 24k comments and distributed 12k upvotes
Posted 550 long-form contents
Received 23k replies, 75k upvotes and 9k HP in rewards
16 HivePUD participation
15 straight months of daily power up.
11 LPUD participation (8 with badges)
One of 105 users last year (64 users this year) who have helped others by powering up HIVE to their accounts.
I'm stoked looking back.
Hive certainly made a huge difference in my lifestyle, not financially yet, but with how I go about my day-to-day. This blockchain made it possible for me to connect with other people from various parts of the globe, to travel both virtually and in real life, learn from others, reflect and have fun in the process. It's allowing me to document my life through my posts, my engagements. It is also making my retirement days productive, more creative and meaningful.
Of course, none of these could have happened without willingness and commitment on my part. For that, I've just given my shoulders a gentle pat for a job well-done.
And if there are things I could share, especially to those who are just starting here, it would be this:
Just be yourself, keep going, make an effort on your posts and on your engagements, think long-term . Don't get discouraged when your posts aren't getting upvotes or comments on them. Unless you have whale friends here on Hive, chances are you would have to start the way most of us did, make connections, interact with others, be consistent and learn along the way. As others I've read say, treat Hive as a business, you got to put work and effort into it for it to prosper and succeed.
And most importantly, have fun!
It had been a journey and still will be. I'm now excited how the next two years will be, but will take one day at a time like it had always been.
Thank you Hive and to everyone around who had been on this wonderful adventure. Let's keep creating 'blockprints (borrowing 
@rmsadkri's word) and memories. Here's to the next 2 and beyond!馃馃嵒
Lead photo created on Canva. Screenshots from my board on Hivebuzz. 22042023/09:48ph