Hello Steemit! Been lurking on and off for over a year; finally saying hello!

Hello Steemians! I'm Mike - introduced to Steemit by @robrigo who I met in college - about 7 or 8 years ago! I'm eager to share some great photos and stories here (esp in travel, nature & photography - when I go on overland trips and live out of my Jeep). 

So, who am I?!

I'm a 28 year old dude that's spent most of his life in Michigan, but am currently snowbirding in Arizona for the winter. For the past fifteen years, I never really knew what I wanted out of life - but was raised with relatively conservative mid-western ideologies. I was taught to do well in school, take AP courses, get a good GPA to get into a good college, so I can get a good job. I guess that was supposed to equate to happiness? But it never clicked for me - so I've stumbled around life in my 20s, sort of wandering around within both my personal and professional life.

These days, I tend to embrace change. I try not to stay in one place too long - and have gotten pretty comfortable with the idea that I don't need to know what's next in life. I haven't had a job last longer than 12 months.  So, it's kind of fitting I work remote - as a digital marketer primarily focused on lead generation via pay-per-click advertising (AdWords, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, etc) in an agency. It's fairly rewarding to help businesses grow and expand, but I'm nearing the point of moving on to something a bit different - whether that's freelancing with less 9-5 like commitments - or working in-house for a business I truly am passionate about.... but I digress...

I'm a big fan of having great experiences (I mean, who isn't?!). Whether it's going on a wild trip to New Orleans, a relaxing drive around town with the sun on your face and some great jams on the radio, killing the last raid boss in WoW, or just having a kickass day with some friends. I hope to learn something new out of every experience I have. With that said, some of my most memorable experiences include:

Attending the Rothbury Music Festival in 2007. Buying & modifying my Jeep (2009 - Present). Joining a fraternity in 2009. Starting a company that tried to blend the best of IRC/AIM/Facebook/Reddit into a real-time media sharing & communication platform. Moving to California from Michigan (kind of on a whim, no less) in 2012. With one of best friends as my co-pilot, we stopped at half a dozen or so national forests. One of which, was the Grand Canyon, where I took some time to chill on the edge of the Grand Canyon - which was the most exhilarating experience I've ever had while sitting completely still! After that, I had planned on living in San Francisco and working in Silicon Valley, but actually ended up living in wine country for ~9 months - which was very relaxing and quite enlightening. Homebrewing my first beer in 2012 and subsequently, brewing some of the best beer I've ever drank since. My brewing partner and I now brew on a 1/2BBL electric HERMS system - that's capable making ~15 gallons of beer at a time). Anyway, I returned back to the Midwest in Feb 2013 and had some other fantastic experiences since then: Attending Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2013. Starting a new career path at the age of 26, when all of my peers seem have "grown up". Visiting Denver for the Great American Beer Festival in 2015. Spending a wild weekend in New Orleans with two of my best friends. Being a part of the US 138th Mythic Kil'jaeden kill in WoW. And now - and for at least the next 2-3 months - living off of what I could fit into my Jeep in my temporary residence in Arizona - while 70% of my belongings are being stored in a friend's basement back in Michigan.

In the past few years, I've been spending a lot of my time and energy into minimizing my belongings, better managing my personal finances (ranging from responsible spending/saving, traditional investing, and learning more about cryptocurrency), learning how be more in tune with nature (camping, gardening, cooking, etc), and moving my career forward in a way that enables me to reliably find work (ie, have a specific & often desired set of skills), whether full-time or freelance. Instead of dreaming about what I could do or be - as I often did in my younger years - I know focus on practical skills that I can rely on to more easily take care of myself.

What's next?!

In 2016 and 2017, I was obsessed by the idea of buying a bus, converting it into a skoolie / tiny house, and travelling the country. However, it would be a yuuuge lifestyle change for me - and a somewhat overwhelming undertaking in time, cost, and skills. I decided that I'm not 100% ready to dive into this yet. So I've decided to take baby steps and test the lifestyle out with my Jeep...

In 2018, I'm aiming to explore the western & southwestern United States. I've gotten a ton of inspiration from tiny house living, vandwelling, and minimalism. I'm hoping by March 2018, I'll have everything in order to "jeep dwell" (live out of my Jeep, kinda like this dude or this guy!) this Spring & Summer - exploring Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington... not too sure where life will take me after that, to be honest!

While I'm going to be living this alternative lifestyle, I have a few goals! I have a list of books I've been meaning to read. I'm a big fan of dystopian novels as well as reading about people that have taking on big challenges and adventures. The list includes The Island, Don Quixote, The Iliad, Brave New World, Around The World In 50 Years and The Man Who Ate Everything. Maintain a modest monthly income through freelancing. Spend a week or so in Wyoming, living out of a Wheelhaus. Lastly, I plan to visit at least 10 national forests.

Lastly, I'm getting really excited about the future of blockchain technology. A few years back, I did some trading with the sole intent of making money (and I made a few bucks!). But now, I'm working to understand the real-world social and business implications that we'll see due to blockchain tech. I'm still learning and trying to understand it all - but seeing practical applications, such as Steemit, help provide some easily understandable references. Now, instead of trying to make some quick cash, I'm investing in platforms that I believe have the ability to scale with mass adoption (and not quite crumble like BTC & ETH seemed to have done in the past week or so). With that said, I do think digital currency will play a major role in one the greatest wealth re-distributions man has ever seen. I'm eager to see it unfold in my lifetime.

Anyway, I'm excited to get more involved in the Steemit community!