I remember starting out on Steemit and seeing those with a rep of 70 , it is just a number and it is not the number that is important, but more what you have done with your time whilst you got there, but still I couldn't help thinking, how long would it take me to get there. Well 2 years later and here I am, at 70. Like I said the number itself is not important, but I still can't help but feel a little pleased with myself, it was no easy feat.

I am one of those, yes one of those forsaken, who has cashed out her earnings. As a single mum, every little helps and Steemit at one point was my only source of income and I am forever grateful for that. I would have loved to have just powered up what I earned, so that I could give back more to the community, in terms of rewards, but I have my family to feed and that will always comes first.

I don't really want to go into details again, about my personal journey these last two years, those that know me, know it has read like a shitty soap opera. But alas it is my life and as a result, here I stand stronger than before.

Steemit became such an important outlet for me, a safe haven where I could express myself freely and just let all my emotions pour out of me and onto the screen. The words I wrote took on a life of their own, as I shared my life with you all. It is kinda funny, because I am usually such a private person, I have spend so many years always relying on myself for support, that was just how my life has been. But here I found the freedom to reach out and be heard and in doing so received so much support from my community on here.

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Community

My journey on here has been all about community. Finding it and adding my voice to it. If you have a voice, then use it, use it to spread awareness, use it to reach out and connect with others. The same goes with your creations, we are all creators and when we create we are connecting with our truth self. Their is nothing better than having some one tell you that your work has inspired them.

After joining the @EcoTrain, I became a lot more confident in my ability to write and express myself , the weekly EcoTrain questions played a huge part in that, getting me to push my boundaries and think outside my comfort zone. What a wonderful workout for my brain, that had previously been locked in mama mode. Alex certainly doesn't shy away from the big questions and because of that, this platform has been gifted by so much insight, awareness and knowledge and it just keeps on coming. I met some of my closest steemit friends within this community, people who inspire me so much. Inspire me to do better and to keep sharing what I know.

A few months later I then became a member of @TribeSteemUp, here were a group of people who all shared a common goal, to co create the world we wish to live in and to treat the earth and all her inhabitants human and non human with the respect they deserve. The earth is not ours to do with as we please, it is our home, we are a part of it and it is our duty to be of service to the earth. All of the above is included in the 8 Pillars of the Tribe and each member must adhere to them if they wish to be a part of it. These principles and the vision that @kennyskitchen has really spoke to me and I became a very active part of the tribe, doing the weekly curation and biweekly question.

@riverflows who is one of my favourite people on here, created the amazing Natural Medicine community. This community is all about empowering one another and giving back to the earth. Natural medicine is my life, because life itself and how we choose to live it is the best medicine of all. Modern medicine is very destructive, Natural medicine is non destructive, it is working with the gifts of nature, the gifts of self in order to heal ourselves. It is connecting with the ancient wisdom of the plants and the trees, connecting with our creative self, healing through art and music and words. I was so excited to see this community happen and if I had more free time I would love to be able to help out more.

The sheer amount of knowledge that has been shared, is so inspiring and it sits forever on this blockchain, this for me is pure magic!

I also became a member of @EarthTribe, a wonderful community created by @elamental that wishes bring together those who are activley being of service to the earth, who are Earth conscious and living an eco-friendly life. Another wonderful community that is very close to my heart and ful of wonderful humans. Community is all about bringing people together, providing a safe space where people can share with one another and can be supported by all those involved. It is all about working together.

I have felt such a huge sense of community on here, yes I know there are those who are unhappy, who are disappointed, who have a completely different vision about what they think Steemit should be. But you know what, we are all responsible for creating our happiness. If you are not happy well then do something about it, stop moaning and trying to bring others down. If you are unable to do something, well then maybe this platform, this community is not for you, so just leave!

You always end up getting what you gave in the first place. I see so much opportunites, so much potential. It is the people on here that have created that, that keep on creating it. We are all in it together at the end of the day.

I have recently became a curator for @creativecoin and it has really opened my eyes to amount of hugely talented artists we have on here. It is so exciting to see all these tribes, all these communities, all these brillant minds working together to make this platform a fucking awesome place to be. I really am not one for negativety, in the end it just feeds more negativity.

Instead lets all take a look at what has been created on here, lets remember that Steemit is still young, still evolving, still learning. Look at all that has been achieved, think of all the amazing folk on here. Becaue my life is certainly a lot richer because of those folk and I am not talking about money here. I am talking about the riches that we need to survive in life, we need to connect with others, we need to create and be inspired and we need to work together.

To all the other communities that have welcomed me, thank you. @freedomtribe, @steemitmamas and @thealliance, I wish I had more time in my day to get involved . To @homesteaderscoop, which is such a wonderful project created by the wonderful couple that is @sagescrub, I do hope to be more active in the future. What you are doing is amazing and is such a beautiful example of what is possible. Putting the future in our hands.

8 Pillars of TribeSteemUp