Back to the Wild West!
The airport-centric, last-minute Steemit post is always the most exciting. These are done right before major transitions between places of the world, across borders and cultural definitions, and through completely unique social mindsets. From my daily writing and thought, I know that simply hopping on a plane will bring about a whole new set of thoughts and experiences that I hadn't experienced before. Plus, the airborne ride will also give me an extended moment of respite when I can't indulge my impulses to refresh the Steemit newsfeed or check my little earnings (and losses) in Coinmarketcap. I unplug, regroup, and hit the tarmac with renewed prospects and surprises waiting for me.
But this ride also represents a whole new transition for me. During the last year, it seems like there has been an endless flurry of life-altering events – I've set up my roots and relationships on Steemit (my first-ever encounter with cryptocurrencies), started a new business @sndbox with @voronoi, transitioned into New York City, and most recently vowed my vows to my life-long partner to-be. We're about to hit 2018 and more so than ever, I'm entering a new phase of my life with incredible commitments, responsibilities, and opportunities. Things will never be the same as they were pre-2017 no matter what anyone does bar the invention of a time machine. So, my mission from now and moving forward is to ramp up this momentum so that the aforementioned milestones quickly seem just seeds in a future forest, not the end-all-be-all of our accomplishments.
Just the Beginning for KR/Korea
This past month in Korea, the first time being here after getting so heavily involved in Steemit, has been a fruitful one. Hundreds of conversations coalesced into meetups into presentations into projects in Seoul. This is all very very significant to me as it is my first time meeting Koreans over a common interest. I've met Koreans due to similar, uncontrollable circumstances such as school or work settings but this now is a really new phase of creating relationships based on mutual ambitions and matching personalities. It's refreshing and liberating and I can't wait to see how this develops in the future.
And this experience truly validated the type of work I've been focused on for a few years now. Cultural development, beyond the flashy buildings and expensive concerts, is a tiny focus of any administration or institution on the peninsular. Things come at face value and diminish at face value. There have been only few opportunities to convince anyone that something deeper is needed.
With the help of Steemit, we can largely reverse that course. We no longer have to rely on deep-pocketed individuals who reaped the rewards of the last few decades and experience no urgency to help the country develop culturally. We no longer have to wait on grants or depend on donors. We can push the work forward as it builds and strives towards impact. STEEM Park Korea has proven that, just as the original STEEM Park in Brooklyn laid the framework for @sndbox and its ongoing mission. We're at the foot of the mountain that we can see clearly now through the haze.
STEEM Onwards!
With Steemit coming close to 2 years in maturity and the recent price action ticking upwards, it looks like 2018 is going to be a big big year for STEEM. Communities, SMTs, more and more Steemians, and a collective desire to impact the world in diverse ways are all going to converge to make a bit stand for the Steemit community within and beyond the cryptocurrency sector.
So, see you in New York!
