Before this year ends, I would like to share with everyone about my writing journey and thank all the people that have helped me to get here.
A blogger or a writer for a living- this is what I now want to be when I grow up.
The past year has really made me contemplate my choices, whether to pursue my dreams or go for practicality, but I now know that I can achieve both if I focus on doing the things I love, and so I got to work.
My path to becoming a writer has been quite a rough one. I started by freelancing on both Upwork and online jobs. ph. It was an okay experience. I got to know the business side of writing, and I knew that one could make a living by doing writing jobs.
Photo by Faizur Rehman on Unsplash
But clients tend to give super low rates if you don’t have experience, so I got to work again.
I surfed the internet as to how I could create my portfolio. One video mentioned that I could try out blogging as my work experience as a writer, and that was my first sign about blogging and how lucrative it could be.
I tried out different websites to start my blogging journey, like WordPress and Wix, but the problem was that I had to pay to build my website. I know that many people earn money from blogging, but I also know that many people also don’t make money from it, and it feels like a waste of money and time.
I did not want to pay for something that I’m not 100% sure was going to work out, so I searched again, and then I found Medium.com. It was a site where I could post, read, and comment on other people’s blog posts; it was like heaven.
I did not focus on earning money on Medium as my goal was to create my portfolio, but I enjoyed writing there. I did not make any money from it, but I did get applause.
My Medium Blog Site
Only a few people read my articles, but it was OK because my girlfriend was there for me the entire time. She encouraged me and motivated me to continue even though not a lot of people bothered to read my blog posts.
After quite some time, I worked as a freelance writer after getting my work experience. I worked with a lot of people from many different countries. Yes, I enjoyed it, and it was a step closer to my goal, but then I looked back when I was blogging on Medium; I was much happier blogging even though I earned NOTHING from it, money-wise.
I knew that writing was my passion, but not the ones where I had to do tons of research on and doing SEOs and all that. I wanted to share my feelings with the world, regardless of whether I earned money or not.
And then, COVID happened. My entire family and I contracted covid, and we were stuck in our quarantine facility together; my sister, my younger brother, and father got to go home after 14 days, but my mother and I were stuck for almost a month as we still tested positive for the re-swabbing, it was devastating.
Photo by Jose Antonio Gallego Vázquez on Unsplash
I badly wanted to go home and pet my dog, but I couldn’t do it.
I still worked as a freelancer while being in quarantine and still searching for ways to earn money through blogging, and there I saw it. “Hive”, a place to make cryptocurrency through blogging, and I already knew crypto as I am currently a trader, so I signed up immediately.
I published my first blog and was already met with obstacles. Hive was super hard to get started at, and I did not know the rules and all that. I had to learn it the hard way.
But thankfully, people here on Hive are friendly enough to help each other out. They were giving out tips and guidelines for newbies to follow.
I’d love to thank everyone on @theterminal and @wesphilbin for helping me start on Hive, especially with the Hive power delegation. You guys helped me with tips and advice to jump-start my blogging career, and I thank you all so much.
I focused on writing, engaging, and everything in between. I earned and while the most I made was 10 dollars, I was already pretty hyped about that. My girlfriend and I were so happy because I was on my way to my dreams.
I know that the money I earned was not a lot, but it was substantial enough for me. I get to pursue my dreams AND get paid to do it?!
But now I was ready to take my blogging to the next level, I asked tons of Hivers for tips, something I’d never imagined I would do as I am a very shy guy, but I had nothing to lose.
I want to thank @glecerioberto again, as he provided me with tons of advice that helped me in my Hive journey. His tips are something that I use daily here on Hive and will stick with me forever whenever I publish a blog post. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
My Hive journey won’t be complete without @purepinay and the beautiful people from the @hivecebubloggers community. They helped me with curation and all the advanced knowledge they had learned from blogging on Hive for quite some time.
They accepted me and treated me as one of their own, even though I lived far away from Cebu. They even invited me to all the gatherings and celebrations they planned out; it’s such a heart-warming feeling. I could never thank these people enough, and I will always be indebted to them.
Also, to the most beautiful community ever @aseanhivecommunity, thank you for welcoming my content. And to @justinparke, who consistently commended my level of engagement, thank you! These types of appreciation are the things that encourage me to keep on going despite all the setbacks I’ve faced.
My writing journey would not be complete without you guys. And thank you for guiding me and enabling me to reach my dreams.
I could have never gotten this far without you guys. And I will always be thankful for that.
THANK YOU!