It is almost 3 years since i joined Steem back in June 2017. Since that fateful day that i chose my user-name and destiny on what is now Hive, my life has not been the same. I can still feel the excitement and bewilderment at what was a whole new world. Safe from the dreaded FB and all those other megalithic platforms that i had become so tired of. Steem took over my life entirely for about 1.5 years, and I can still remember how every conversation that I had with friends would somehow end up with me talk about Steem, or what a great post that would be to write! It was a real breath of fresh air to connect with so many people from all around the world, most of whom I seemed to have so much in common with.

The ecoTrain was formed very soon after my introduction to Steem. I was so passionate about it that I wrote a huge article on Facebook inviting all my friends to join us and spread our peculiar brand of love and light with the world, and potentially make some money at the same time. I also invited quite a few friends who were willing to invest, including myself, to support the up-voting of our community. This was before the days of discord, and our Whatssap group used to bleep off the hook.. It was great fun, and truly inspiring to read some of the amazing content we were generating every day.

I learned so much about so many things from the posts and comments. I helped @familyprotection for sometime in my second year on Steem. I learned things that I had never even thought about before, and today my eyes are wide open to some of the things that happen behind the screen. I thank everyone who works so hard in their lives to share and shed light on issues that may even put our own lives or security at some risk. There are many ground-breaking projects and people here, and it is very clear that we are a powerful force

I bought a lot of Steem, some of it the amazing price of over $2.50! As the Steem price dropped, and continued to plummet, it was of course hard to see. I broke the rule of putting in more than we are willing to lose, but that is life and lessons learned! What is very special though is that despite all of the challenges and problems I continued to stick it out. I have had a few breaks over the three years, but I was always drawn back to it. I learned to love writing, reading, commenting, and discovering new and interesting people. I still valued the whole project as ground-breaking, and still in its infancy. I have as much patience for Steem and Hive as I would a small child. She needs our positive input and nurturing to grown and blossom, and that is what I have always tried to do.

So it makes me very happy to have achieved 5,000 followers on Hive, because I have put so much time, love and sometimes everything i had into ecoTrain and what is now Hive. After three years, it it hard to imagine a week go by without a question of the week even happening, and the many amazing posts we always get in response. So, THANK YOU for being here with ecoTrain and HIVE, and for all the support that SO MANY of you have shown me and the community! It gives me great encouragement and support, and strength to carry on with life's challenges and missions. Thank you to all of you who read, comment, engage, and support me and ecoTrain.

I would like to give a Very special thank you to @abundance.tribe, @canadian-coconut, @v4vapid, @likwid, @krnel, @jphamer1, @d-pend, @yabaptmatt, @oldstone, @amico, @mangos, @themarkymark, @buildawhale, @superhardness, @greenman, @kennyskitchen, @likedeeler, @nainaztengra, @bubke, and of course everyone who supports me and the casues I feel so strongly about.

These are exciting times in many ways for blockchain and Hive. Remember, Hive is still in ints infancy and none of us can know or imagine what the future has in store. Keep positive, keep engaging, stay on the chain and support the new paradigm that we SO desperately need in these challenging times.

<3 Alex

The 8 Pillars of Abundance Tribe