5 years on Hive Blockchain - Happy Hive Birthday to me

As of yesterday, I have completed 5 years on Hive. I'm very happy and glad to share this. I actually forgot and only when I was about to hit the bed I realized that yesterday was my Hive birthday. I then thought I should write an article and share my happiness today. I have so many memories to share and Hive means a lot to me now. I have made many friends here and this has also been a great learning platform and a business opportunity for me.

I joined Steem back in 2017. Back then I did not know anything about blockchain or cryptocurrencies. I was just looking for a platform to write articles and try to earn from them. I was also actively doing some content writing for some of my clients and one major client contract ended, and that is when I was looking for an alternative to write. I'm really glad that I came to know about this beautiful community. Initially, I did not understand anything. I was very new to the crypto and blockchain world. My only experience was on crypto exchanges to do some bitcoin trading.

I feel like within the blink of my eye 5 years have passed. It took me more than 15 days to write a decent article after joining this platform and at least a month's time to understand this place and see where I can fit myself. I have to admit that I have gained much knowledge in the last 5 years. From an ordinary application developer, I was able to upskill myself as a blockchain developer. I would like to list out some of my achievements, learnings, memories, etc. in bullet points.

• I learned consistency, persistence, and determination and this has been my Mantra on Hive.

• I started as a normal content writer but have turned myself into one of the core dApp developers on Hive.

• My skill improved from being an ordinary full-stack developer to a blockchain developer. Game backend development is also one of my skills now. Learning some game engines is all that is left now.

• I read something every single day and write something every single day. This has become a hardcore practice now. Part of my day-to-day routine.

• I'm also a Hive and Hive Engine witness. Only last year I created my secondary account called @balaz and have been running my witness nodes from that account. It is also exactly 1 year since I created that account.

• About all, I have earned so many friends from several parts of the world. Even from a few countries that I never knew existed before I joined this platform.

I like hivebuzz website. That provides some great badges that describe more about my account. I like those bottom two badges that describe my consistency. I have been writing almost every single day and those badges are the proof and I'm very happy about it. Maybe I will cover my badges in a separate article and talk about them later.

About last year

Last year was a wonderful year for me. When I initially joined, I thought I should have my financial independence when I complete 5 years on this platform. But it is already 5 years now. I understand 2 years was a terrible year for all of us. Now I'm starting to have a feeling that I would need at least another 2 or 3 more years for me here to even think about financial independence. This is the learning that I have gained in the last year. All I can say is that this is a great place to stick around and have fun with lots of friends and like-minded individuals.

I was able to grab some good opportunities here in the last year. I'm now part of a game development team and we are doing the launch soon. I've also been actively involved in several other projects. People following my blog would know what I'm talking about. I hope the entry into 6th year should give me more and more opportunities and help me climb up the ladder.

Thanks to all the wonderful people who have been supporting me from the beginning and continuing to support me. I wish all success to my fellow Hive community members and people who have just joined Hive. Patience is the key and as always follow my mantra.

Be consistent, persistent, and determined. Success will be yours. Thanks, everyone for making me feel good about this Hive birthday.

If you like what I'm doing on Hive, you can vote me as a witness with the links below.

Vote @balaz as a Hive Witness
Vote @kanibot as a Hive Engine Witness