I Abused Minnow Support Out of Desperation, I Regret It

Two to three weeks ago, I joined Minnow Support in the hope of earning some good bucks. For some minnows such as myself, earning additional income with little to no effort at all is a huge blessing, especially when you needed it the most.

My Goal

My goal was to earn $1500 to pay for my grandfather's hospital bills. I am already buried deep in debt, especially now that I have too many loans. If I don't earn that amount in time, me and my grandfather will be homeless in no time. I don't want him to experience it especially now in his old age and condition. And that was when I decided to look for ways to earn faster here on Steemit. I was desperate.

Minnow Support

When I learned about @minnowsupport, and its bot which gives anywhere around 0.50 SBD to 1.5 SBD per upvote, an idea hit me quickly. What if I can create several accounts, create many posts a day, and upvote it all at the same time? Then it is possible to reach my goal in time.

The Blueprint

My goal is to reach $1500 for my grandfather's hospital bill. That's it. That's all I ever wanted. I was desperate.

So here's what I did: I registered several Steemit accounts (@hundreddays, @nobrainer, @brainer, @bloodless, @krustykrab, @spongeb0b, @squidward, @tinmendes, @patriciangela, @patrickangelo, @ptcuber, @sanman) and created more Discord accounts. For every Steemit account, I registered it in Minnow Support in Discord at around 5-7 times each. I thought it wouldn't be possible. I thought only one Steemit account is allowed per registration, but I was wrong. And it made my heart beat faster. I was excited to finally earn some good earnings.

For the first seven days, I wake up early, post 6 memes, and upvote it all with my discord accounts before I head to work. At evening, I post another 6 memes, upvote it again (as you can only upvote every 12 hours) before I go to sleep.

After the first seven days, that was when I started to cash out some earnings. I get around 35 SBD a day which is equal to what I earn in my day job. This made my motivation even greater. At this point, I knew that the system will be abused, but I have to do it to pay for the hospital bills and avoid being homeless. So I continued to do it. I told myself that as soon as I was able to complete my goal, I'm gonna end this madness for sure.

I was able to pay a partial amount of the bills from all the loans that I took, from my day job, from my part time job, and from Minnow Support. Now I'm down to $1100 worth of debt.

I also started selling some home made perfumes to my co-workers to help increase my earnings.

The Early Dilemma

I thought everything was going well. I can see the clear path towards paying my grandfather's hospital bill. But I was wrong again. Minnow Support's upvote dropped to 0.40 SBD. At this rate, I was only earning around 9 SBD per day. As soon as I found out about it, I quickly applied for a part-time job I can do after my day job. I needed it badly. There are days when I don't eat a decent meal. I work during my lunch break so I can leave work earlier to go to my next job. There was even a day when I was forced to walk to and from work. I had to use my transportation allowance to buy some medicine. My life was in complete chaos. I can't think of any other situation worse than this.

The Last Post

Just as I thought that it can't get any worse, I was wrong for the third time. As I was about to post some memes, I noticed that @aggroed commented on all of my latest posts. I knew that it was the end of the line for me. I knew that I won't be able to earn what I needed on time. I knew that it was the end.I abused the Palnet community. I was wrong. I had some deep realizations.

There are three thousand minnows relying on the community. And just like that, I robbed them all for a total amount of 381.0161 SBD from the community's resources. I never felt more ashamed of myself.

Before I sent @aggroed a message. I thought he was going to punish me badly for what I did. I was ready to accept the punishment. I was ready to leave Steemit for the good guys out there who gives their best to post good content. But for the fifth and final time, I was wrong.

I was wrong for a good reason.He understood me. He taught me a lesson. I can't believe how someone who has a huge authority here on Steemit understood a little minnow who abused his community so badly. I told him I was so desperate. I was ready to leave Steemit for good. But he gave me a chance to make things right.I guess that's how life is. People make mistakes. I'm not perfect.

When I started, I knew that it was wrong. But I was desperate. So I continued to do it without thinking of the consequences that come ahead.

To the Peace, Abundance, Liberty Network, I am truly sorry for what I did. I robbed you all of the resources that you deserve.

To the team behind the PALNet, your vision and mission to help the minnows are pure. But I abused it for my own selfish reasons. I ran out of choices, that was the last thing I can resort to. With that, I am truly sorry.

To all the Steemit users, I robbed you some percentage of what you should have earned. With that, I am truly sorry.

I want to make it up all of you in any way I can. I don't know how I will do it yet, honestly speaking, but I plan to make things right. Even if it means not returning to Steemit anymore.

Again, I am truly sorry for what I've done. I am just a desperate man who wants my grandfather to be well again. My intention is good, but my ways are not. I promise never to do it again.

I know I won't meet you all in person, but I will forever carry the burden of robbing you all of the resources you truly deserve.

My grandfather's hospital room.