The First Upvote

When I posted my first article on Steemit, I didn’t expect much.
No followers. No reputation. No comments waiting at the door.

I hit Publish, leaned back, and stared at the screen like it might blink first.

Minutes passed. Then hours.

I refreshed the page more times than I care to admit. Still nothing. No upvotes. No feedback. Just my words floating in the digital void.

I almost deleted the post.

Then it happened.

A single upvote appeared.

Not a whale. Not a big curator. Just a small account with a simple username and a profile picture that looked like it was made on a phone from 2016.

But that upvote felt heavier than gold.

Someone, somewhere, had read my words and decided they were worth something.

I clicked on their profile. They had been posting for years. No viral posts. No massive rewards. Just consistency. Just showing up.

That’s when I understood something important about Steemit.

This platform isn’t built on instant success.
It’s built on patience. On quiet creators. On people who keep writing even when no one is watching.

That single upvote didn’t make me rich.
But it made me stay.

And sometimes, that’s the real reward.