My testimony with the Project Hope Community

In September 2020 I found out about the existence of the Project Hope community. From that day on I set out to be part of it and after several failed attempts I finally managed to get accepted into this wonderful community. This post is about how and why I am here.

Since the fork of Steemit and Hive I have been on the latter as the main platform to publish my content. Always reading about that absurd and meaningless war between the users of the two blockchain (because the rivalry was not only based on the blogging platform, but beyond). I came to understand that if one even visited Steemit he was a traitor. Some people at Hive don't even mention the word steem or Steemit, it's like Voldemort in Harry Potter.

The thing is that I wanted to go back to Steemit for a long time, after all, this network is where I started, and if you add the fact that they made you feel it was sacrilege to even think about steem, the more I wanted to (I have a slight taste for breaking rules and doing what the crowd obeys for no reason). So from time to time I would pop in and see what was going on around these parts. In between those visits, I stumbled upon Project Hope. The first thing I liked was the subject matter, it was similar to what I used to publish frequently. I remember that I published for the first time in September 2020 and I was muted. For some reason my theme was not according to the rules (I admit I wanted to forcefully adjust it). @Juanmolina was the one who wrote to me explaining the reason for my silence. The fact made me a little uncomfortable and I did not continue posting, my attempt to return was not successful. I didn't keep on insisting because I was quite active in Hive, but I was still with the thorn of coming back.

I tried a second time in April of this year 2021 and although I was not silenced, I was not voted with the PH trail either (at that time I did not know about the 50% benefactor). I posted once again and this time I was muted again, despite placing @ph-fund as a beneficiary. @josevas217 wrote me and explained the reason for my silence. I think that's what finally motivated me. I realized that this was not just any community where you arrived with an image and a few words and that's it, they voted for you. Beyond the beneficiary assignment, excellence reigned and I realized that if I wanted to be part of PH I had to make more effort, or rather, be myself and connect with the essence of this project.

So for my next attempt I chose a post that I really liked and that was highly rated in Hive, I divided it in two (it was very long) and published the first part. My surprise was huge when I saw that the post was rated very high. I was in. Or at least I felt that I was welcomed. From that moment on I started to interact with other authors, to publish content that I had already published in Hive and one or two unpublished for this community. But there were more pleasant surprises to come. As the weeks went by I was discovering more about Project Hope and I became fascinated with its organization, its leadership and its vision. Nothing was done at random, everything was well thought out or at least with a purpose in mind. That makes you feel safe, confident, with the security that you are in the company of people with the same objective, who support each other and have a common goal: to grow and support each other.

The attention of @crypto.piotr, his calm and equanimous style, but at the same time strict and persuasive. His ability to lead, to sell his idea, to create alliances, his initiatives, his concern for his team members are aspects that I have learned to admire and respect. The way he and @josevas217 handled my case of "plagiarism" by mistake was more than respectable. All the members in general are excellent people and authors and very zealous with what PH means in their lives. That makes them advocates for who they are as a community, the sense of belonging that exists is huge. I like that a lot.

But I think I'd better stop here, I'm one of those who settle down to talk or write and there's no stopping me. The last thing I want to say is that Project Hope has been a very positive experience in my life. It has helped me to solve some economic needs, something that I am very grateful for since I have a large family (there are six of us at home). But not only the economic aspect has been positive, but also the learning that I have acquired thanks to the posts of the members of the community. In fact I have my favorites, although I try to read and support everyone, I try not to miss posts from @lennyblogs, @karupanocitizen, @chucho27, @josevas217, @devotedman. Authors who always bring content of value and that I like.

I can't leave without expressing my apologies to all of you because I know I haven't been up to the task. Sometimes I have thought about retiring and not continuing to accompany you. I see the commitment of many of you and I feel that I have a long way to go to reach your level. But as I have let you know before, as long as you do not tell me explicitly, I will continue to support you with my content, SP (I recently delegated 50 to @ph-support), together with the trail both here (with 100%), and that of @lupafilotaxia in Hive (with a fixed 30%) and the percentage of 50% of beneficiary in each publication I make in the community.

With you I have managed to raise my SP, which when I arrived was at 40 and raise up to 60 reputation, when I just joined I had it at 53. I want to continue to achieve individual and collective achievements. To grow with you and for you.

I leave a big hug to all this wonderful community.

Thank you for so much and sorry for so little.

Sincerely, from Maracay, Venezuela,

Gary Samuel Bilbao.