Ain't rid of me yet | LOH Contest #153

It’s not very often that I find a writing theme on Hive that quickens the heart quite as this one. The latest Ladies of Hive community contest poses a rather interesting question to the wonderful chicas on the blockchain.

Do you still see yourself here on Hive 5 years from now? How would your Hive portfolio (HP, HBD Savings, HE token holdings) look like by then?

For a commitment freak like me, the resounding “yes” in my heart when I read this came as quite a shock. What do I mean by that? I mean that for as long as I’ve known myself, I’ve had an uneasy relationship with commitment. I can commit to close friends and family, but that’s pretty much it. Romantically, I get jitters at the prospect of commitment. To an extent, I think my love of travelling plays into it, as well. I get uneasy when I’m in a place too long. Even recently, moving into my new place, I got horribly anxious. I felt, in a way, that if I move here, I might never leave. I don’t know why. I like places and people I can leave easily. And I know, it’s an issue, one I’m working through in my way. But that’s not the point here.

The point is, with this question, were it something else, I would’ve probably said “well, let’s see in 5 years, shall we?”

But with Hive, I just knew. I’ve already been here six, and if anything I feel less like leaving than when I was a newbie, hardly at all invested in the platform. Now, obviously, there’s no telling what will come in five years’ time, but in as much as it depends on me, I’d wager that yeah, I’ll be here in five years.

Why?

Honestly, I don’t know. I could say “community”, it’s a classic answer, but that one changes. Most of the people I knew on here five years ago aren’t around now, and while the ones I’ve met meanwhile are wonderful, I can’t genuinely say I stayed on Hive for the people I knew five years ago, right?

I like having a place to write.

It’s selfish, but a lot more honest. I love having a space to write where I can talk at length. And as you know, I can ramble quite a bit. I like writing. I’d probably write anyway, but it’s not the same when you’re writing to the empty, you know? I like knowing that you’ll read, and maybe an idea or a response will form in your brain, and we will have created dialogue. It’s thrilling like I don’t know what.

What about this portfolio business?

Man, I wish I had an answer for that. Truth is, I’ve never been a person who got into this for the cash. It’s not that I don’t like the money, but I don’t know how. I lack the fine skills and the financial knowledge to do this for the money.

I don’t know how to invest, or what to invest in, honestly. I’d like to. I imagine I’d be better off if I did, but then, I’d probably be a lot more anxious too, and as we saw previous, I’m plenty anxious already.

So I’ve no clue what my portfolio will look like in five years. Ideally, I’d be able to keep everything in HP. I’ve had one or two times in the past six years when I took out most of everything I had on here. When Bitcoin went big...what was it, 2018? Man, that was a trip. At 19, I’d never earned that kinda cash before.

But hopefully, I’d manage to keep my HP on here, to “curate”. Another think I don’t know how to do, and never bothered to learn.

I’m a simple person on the blockchain. I like having more money to support the people I like on here. I know there’s a whole thing, the more a post earns, the more I as a voter get in curation. Whatever. I don’t do that. If anything, I’ll vote with less power on the big paying posts -- they’re getting good money, let my two cents go to someone else who might need it more.

So long post short, I don’t know what the future will bring financially. Hopefully, my portfolio will be ten times what it is. Hey, as long as we’re dreaming, eh? But truth be told, I’d probably be on here if I had 10 Hive in my account. It’d suck for some of the people I love reading, since I wouldn’t be able to support them as well, but hey, I’d still be around. And as a writer, I find, as long as we’re not talking Elon Musk levels of wealth, I’d rather go without a few cents and get some honest engagement (than vice versa).

So yeah, thanks LOH for the prompt, it’s been fun, and see you around :)