hello world

Hi all,

So I stumbled upon Steemit and thought it might just be the answer to a few different itches I am looking to scratch in my life at this time. First, I have been absolutely dissatisfied with social media at present. I have been part of Facebook since very early on, and have grown with it as it expanded to the worldwide network it is today. While it's great for keeping up with my family, friends, and in particular for checking in on acquaintances without the need for the awkward 45 minute phone call to ask all of the same dull questions you'd ask everyone, it's lost a lot of its appeal and its interest for me. Part of it may be that as my life has grown busier and more complicated, I just didn't have as much time to devote to it. But, more than that, I just stopped deriving any actually satisfaction or joy from the experience. My hope is that Steemit may provide a new avenue for rediscovering some of the original interest that early social media provided.

Second, I have been itching to start writing again, and kept reading and ruminating, but the overwhelming advice from all sides seems to be to just start writing. To make a habit of it, even if what you write is not terribly great. Like any muscle, to truly grow requires consistent effort and exercise, and my hope is to begin exercising that muscle again until I can direct it toward some specific end that truly inspires me. I'll be honest, I'm not sure what I'll write. Sometimes it may be creative writing and fiction, other times a discourse on a question about or an approach to or outlook on some facet of life. The point is, I'm just going to start writing and hope that it morphs from the incoherent jumble of freeform thought that spills out now to some semblance of a meaningful contribution to the world.

My interests are wide and varied, and truth be told, I'm a bit of a serial obsessionist - I get very into things in short, intense bursts, really trying to dive into them and to investigate them thoroughly while I've got the bug in my system. Sometimes, I find these obsessions translate into long-lasting changes that I incorporate into my day-to-day approach to life, sometimes I let the passion fade to make room for the next topic that piques my fancy. In fact, joining Steemit came about as my current obsession is learning more about cryptocurrency. A bit of research, some cross-links later and here I am writing my "introduceyourself" post.

Finally, I am also looking forward to participating in a meaningful and vibrant community, but with a semblance of anonymity. I lock down my Facebook posts to only friends directly connected to me, because I don't want things I share to necessarily enter public discourse or potentially cause issues career-wise down the road. I'm guessing, this is why so many people now opt for more of a Snapchatish social media presence. Moreover, because I have friends and family from all walks of life and with varying perspectives on religion, politics, life, and love, I find I'm constantly editing myself even when I'm posting on Facebook to my limited group of connections. I feel like I don't want to offend any of my friends, and I find that while it probably tempers down some of my admittedly overly passionate views on topics in many cases for the better, in many instances I find I'm being stifled in my expression and discussion on a topic. I also want and don't mind diving into conversations and discussions with people of opposing views as long as the discourse is respectful and rational, and there's a genuine curiosity in understanding my point of view the same way I genuinely want to understand the other point of view. Neither of us may change our perspectives in the end, but if I can at least have a better understanding of the true perspectives and beliefs away from all of the hyped up rhetoric and emotion that can dominate public discourse these days I would love to engage. I truly believe that's much of what causes so much turmoil today - that people become so entrenched in their own views so dogmatically and so rigidly that they can't engage in a meaningful discourse to find some common path forward. More to the point, while the new trend has been toward media that self-destructs and creates no lasting record or footprint, I firmly believe that there is something enjoyable and meaningful to creating something lasting and worth discussing, reading, re-steeming, etc. However, the fear of being branded with conversations and perspectives out of context or to have them impact my daily or professional life has held me back. While I don't plan to hide too much of my own life experience and details in my Steemit conversations, I am hoping the relative anonymity and the fact that Steemit is an up and coming and new platform where people are not just searching for "friends" or "people" by name to connect to as on legacy social media, that I can let loose, so to speak and engage in some conversations that are real, visceral, and at least make any of the poor people choosing to follow me think a bit and maybe reexamine their perspectives a bit.

Anyway, I suppose I've rambled plenty for an intro post, but excited to be here, and hoping that this latest offshoot of a serial obsession bears some fruit and adds some value not only to my own life, but also (just maybe) to someone else's as well.

But let me throw it out to you, unknown reader/potential first follower? Why are you here on Steemit? What are you hoping to get from it and what are you passionate about discussing?