I've officially been using steemit for a year... all I can say is WOW... life changing.

It was a year ago today that I was looking into doing some Ethereum mining. I set up a bittrex account and happened to notice this currency called steem was at like 120% growth. I asked myself "what is that?"

I ended up at steemit.com and read that you could get paid crypto-currency for posting, commenting, and voting. That sounded too good to be true. Yet, it didn't cost me anything. In fact, they said they would give me $10 worth of currency to start out.

Source: Affiliate-101

I started with 10 steem power. I am from a poor family. I never really have had spare money to invest in crypto though I have been very aware of it. I tried a post. Look at that... I'm getting some votes. I'm getting money... Or at least supposedly. I still didn't have that steem, steem power, steem dollars difference worked out.

I told my family about it. Nathan, my son @theanubisrider signed up the same day I did and also got 10 steem power. My daughter @kellywin21 waited a day and only got 5 steem power. Why? The value of steem doubled by then. So $10 worth of steem only bought 5 steem power.

My wife and some others took longer and I think got 1 steem power, maybe 2.

I kept at it. I paid attention. I saw crazy makeup tutorials making $31,000 for a post when steem was worth $4 per post. I saw the rush of other people joining doing the same thing.

I was here to see the rush of spam bots that for awhile (most of a week) made it so 9 out of 10 posts were spam where the bot would grab and image from somewhere and a paragraph from an article and would make a post. 1 out of 10 would be a non-bot post.

@cheetah made by @anyx came to the rescue, but it was overpowered by the army of bots that were self voting each other. The reputation system was implemented and suddenly @cheetah could silence those bots. Most spam was suddenly gone and we got back to doing things.

I've seen people upset and the wars over flagging/down voting which resurgences from time to time.

I've grown to care a great deal about this community. I've engaged with it and talked about so many things here that my wife has even told me she is jealous as I'll talk with this community about things she and I used to talk about. I spun that as a positive for her. I told her due to how filled up her time is caring for her elderly parents (way more challenging that caring for the 6 children we had that are now all adults) at least she can read my steemit posts and see what I am thinking and be able to still come talk to me about those things in the rare moments she has free time. This did make her feel a bit better.

She and WE to a degree have both put large parts of our life on hold while we care for her parents. Their health and age is too fragile for us to go places and take them with us. So we do not do a lot of things.

We also were tight for money. There would be months it was tough to give me $50 from my own paycheck due to bills, and we might argue over that when I'd see her buying cigarettes for someone a red bull when I couldn't even afford to spend my own paycheck. Well steemit solved that problem. I honestly stopped caring about my paycheck. The money I spend on myself, on tools, and on things I want all comes from steemit now and has for awhile. In fact it is beyond my wildest dreams.

I've heard the calls about Ponzi schemes... to which I tell those people. I didn't have to pay anything and they've given me a ton of money. If that is a ponzi scheme or a scam then PLEASE sign me up for more.

I've seen people talking about it being unsustainable, yet all I've seen it do is grow.

A month ago my account (just the steem power) was worth over $40,000. It adjusts as the value of steem adjusts. It is currently at a little over $32,000. I've also spent somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 on tools, games, clothes, food, books, etc. I've helped family, and done many things. I haven't spent a dime to get here. I've just posted, and treated people the best I can.

I've found a community I know and love. I've committed myself to helping make steem succeed and keeping the environment a positive one that we've come to love.

I've realized some profound things. One of those was that steem while being one of the fastest blockchains out there (only EOS may be faster) is also the only currency I know that is actually backed by something.

ONLY CURRENCY includes gold, storj, and other things.

Gold has value due to its scarcity and because we give it that value. It also can be used to make non-currency things. It is a scarce resource and all scarce resources have some intrinsic value.

Steem on the other hand is something new. It is intrinsically linked to OUR creations. We write poems, music, stories, art, and you name it. We create. We share ourselves. We store it in the same blockchain that drives the currency. The currency is backed by our creations. Think about that. When you think of your house catching on fire, is it the money that was in your wallet that your mind flashes to? Is it the TVs and other things that insurance that can help you replace that your mind flashes to? I suspect what goes through your mind is the things you cannot replace such as those stories in a notebook in the closet, the love letters saved, the old home videos on DVD or VHS, the photos in photo albums, and the things you created with your own mind and hands that are irreplaceable.

I would contend that those irreplaceable things have vastly more personal value than things we can replace. That is the type of thing that backs the steem currency and that makes it HUGE. I expect it to go to huge places. For me right now this is the best crypto currency on the market. I am watching EOS, but all others pale in comparison to steem in my mind.

I've been here a year and it is one of the best things to ever happen to me. I plan to be here as long as I can. I plan to support the community, make friends, and to create.

Thank you my friends, and steemit... I look forward to many more years. Let's change the world together!

Oh and for those of you that see steem as a bad investment. I started with 10 steem power given to me for free. I now have 17813 a year later without spending a dime, only my time. That is a 178,000% growth! Sounds like a pretty good investment to me. However, if all you do is approach it like a traditional currency and BUY it, sit back, and don't participate then it may not seem like a great one. It is perhaps the greatest crypto investment out there if you engage.