Why do I want to go to Steem Fest? Help me fund my trip!

I was really excited when I first learned that the next Steemfest will be held in Thailand. It's a neighboring country within the ASEAN which gives me no excuse to miss it!

Well, that was before I quit my corporate job...

The good news is that I already have a ticket. I booked as soon as I found a seat sale and my booking was confirmed on June. I even booked a return ticket thinking that I needed to back in the office.

Despite the changes in financial priorities, I still wanted to go and here are my top reasons why I feel strongly on this event.

1) Start of a new chapter

I am officially out of work beginning this week. And I'll be honest that Steem isn't the reason. I wanted to finalize my studies (I just passed my final thesis defense!) and then focus on my health. I am taking an alternative approach to my condition and I finally realized that it wasn't possible in a 9 to 5 lifestyle. I had to quit and look after myself for once.

I will be cleaning up and closing this chapter of my life in the next couple of months until my October graduation. I decided to pursue the flight that I have already booked to Bangkok as the beginning of the next chapter.

That makes Steemfest the start of my digital nomad journey! It would be very symbolic to commence this new lifestyle with a revolutionary platform. I don't intend to use the return ticket anymore. I will be pursuing a life-long dream to travel long term, and work or volunteer to sustain it.

2) Meet fellow Steemians

I've seen people come and go throughout my stay here and we all have our reasons. I also had my own "downs" in this platform but it was the communities that made me stick here. I believe that personally meeting like-minded people will strengthen these communities and connections.

I am excited to meet my friends from @travelfeed and @ladiesofasia. I was part of other groups in the past but it was challenging to be active in a lot of groups especially when I had my full time job.

It would also be a great time to catch up on projects. Although that's my homework before Steemfest. I have been on and off as I was busy with work and studies. I now have free time to catch up and see where I can be part of.

3) Be Inspired

The posts on the previous Steemfest in Poland was truly inspiring and I was just a reader of the blogs and vlogs shared by the participants. I'm sure that being actually part of this event will inspire me on a different level.

I do believe in this platform and I consider my time here an investment. I may not be earning here but I still believe that the future is here. This is why I have never powered down (aside from the fact that there isn't much in my wallet lol). Seriously, I intend to keep my investment here and I'm the long-term type of investor.

I know that a lot of people deserve to be funded. I just read @surpassinggoogle's post and I hope he gets the support so that he can speak and inspire more people.

I don't have a significant participation in this event but I will make sure to contribute where I can. If there's a committee for the event and you need help, I'm willing to lend a hand.

Regardless of the outcome, thank you @anomadsoul and @blocktrades for this contest which is a big practical help to us. I will be grateful for any kind of support I get through this post and succeeding ones since I am still establishing my digital nomad career.

See you in SF!