💥 Starting the New Year as a Dolphin! 💥 | Ecency

Very pleased to be ending the year on a high note, I have just become a dolphin!

It was an objective of mine, once I made the commitment to stick with my Steem "journey," to reach this goal. What a great feeling to be here!!

What does it take? What does looking back "over the trail" show?

Transaction History

As written elsewhere, I am first and foremost an investor in the Steem blockchain. Otherwise, we would never have "met." As the following shows, I have systematically added to my stake on the Steem blockchain:

So ... We all know the complexity of the interactions between STEEM, SBD, and STEEM POWER (SP). While I have kept track of transactions in a spreadsheet, I long ago gave up on trying to keep outright purchases, author rewards, curator rewards, and the continuous "interest" we have posted to our accounts separate. The above is as close as I can get.

Using the information available to us on SteemWorld, I have "earned" approximately $380. The rest is from investments. Yes, investments ...

Hmmm. Looks like the usual "buy high" and "sell low" story at the moment ... Ohhh, this is supposed to be a Happy New Year post. Let's not go there ... 😉

Note: Pleased to say the last power-up transaction above was carried out on SteemWorld, using the new KeyChain feature described by @steemchiller in his latest Weekly Support post. Works great!

If you are not already doing so, please make sure you are following this great Steemian and upvote all of his posts and comments!!

While this tells something of the story, these are really only numbers. Far more important to me is the process of building relationships and learning about all that the Steemisphere has to offer. I did not take the first step on this journey, until my first post on May 14th.

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I am frankly too weary to do justice to some sort of "highlight reel" review of all that has happened from that time until now. So much has centered around engaging with others. From all over the world!

It has just been unforgettable for me, no matter what the future holds.

"Middle Class" on the Steem Blockchain

For just a bit, I want to comment on what attaining "dolphinhood" means to me. For me, it simply means I have reached something of a "middle class" position of influence on the Steem blockchain.

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Much has been written about this. By those better suited to it than I, such as the prolific writer from Finland, @tarazkp. A very important aspect of this new asset class, of which the Steem blockchain is a part, is the decentralization of power.

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At the moment, far too much of it is concentrated in the hands of far too few ... May the New Year bring a great increase in the number of those who have been able to reach the "middle class" of the Steem blockchain.

Closing

What a year 2018 has been! In some ways, it seemed long and drawn out, given my situation at work. Yet it also seems like it was just a flash! And then it was over ...

I want to sincerely thank all of those who have played such an important role in providing encouragement and support to me along the road "in here." It truly takes a community effort to make progress.

You never know what role you might play in the journey of another. Don't ever doubt that. Early on, I was very skeptical about a number of my experiences, but key interactions at critical times kept me going.

So thank you!!