Who Am I? ~ Rising to the "Get To Know Me" Challenge

creatr (70)in #story • 6 years ago (edited)

"We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world."
- Marianne Williamson -

My friend of years on Steemit, @surfermarly, honored me recently by nominating me for @anomadsoul's "Get To Know Me Challenge."

Marly was nominated by @coruscate. I will in turn nominate @dreemsteem, @johnjgeddes, and @lydon.sipe.

But, who am I, really?

There are days I wonder about that myself...

And so, my dear Marly, since you've thrown down the gauntlet, I'll pick it up and invite you and my readers along on a quest for the answer to that question.

I joined Steemit in August of 2016, and I guess that—along with more than 4,000 followers and 12,000 posts—may just qualify me as an "Old Timer?"

However, one of @anomadsoul's contest rules reads as follows:

"Avoid crypto, politics and religious posts."

Wait just a minute!

No offense intended, but I thought you wanted to "get to know me?" My very first post on Steemit was about crypto, I am utterly convinced that Jesus is the Creator-God of the universe, and I am an enemy of the state. Oopsy...😉

Know this: I've never been strong on following the rules, coloring inside the lines, or anything that appears to me to be an arbitrary constraint... and so, proceed at your own risk. If you want to "get to know" the real me, you may just encounter some of that forbidden subject matter. Come on now, I know you're tough... you can take it, right?

In addition to being, like Marly, an extremely enthusiastic Surfer for Life, I am many other things.

In this quest for my true identity,

each image links to a post that will give you a clue. Just click on the image to go to and read the post; use the [Back] button to return to this article and continue reading.

No, That's Not Me; But I Do Sport A Beard ~ Image courtesy of Dos Equis

"I don't always write; but when I do, Aristotle, Shakespeare, and Hemingway read me."
- The Most Interesting Man On Steemit

I'm no comedian,

but I do enjoy a sense of humor, and so one of my most fun posts is the above simple test to see if you have the chops to qualify as one of my followers here.

Early on,

I recognized that I am a Steemit addict.

Hooked on Steem ~ Image courtesy of Stas Svechnikov

When finally I was ready to admit the truth,

I formed Steemit Anonymous.

Likewise—when you're ready to admit you have a problem—you're more than welcome to attend our meetings.😉

Time to tread on dangerous, forbidden ground.

I'm Not Asking You To Believe ~ Image courtesy of Tung Wong

I respect your beliefs.

Likewise, I expect you to respect mine. We're both rational adults, and know that nobody else thinks exactly like we do. That's one of the things that makes life interesting, and makes it possible for me to write an article like the above and to discuss it with you or anyone else in a respectful, mutually educational manner.

But I have so much to say,

and in so many different areas, that I fear my followers become as frustrated as I am at times as I flit back and forth from one of my hot topics of interest to another.

Steemit: No Place for a Polymath... ~ Image courtesy of Pixabay

I write about what interests me,

and the plain truth is that I'm interested in everything. There are times this seems a curse, but overall I consider it a blessing. However, it may make me a little hard to follow if I'm not writing "to you" at the moment. I hope that won't discourage you, and that you'll come back anyway from time to time.

STEEM Rocks! ~ Original image by @creatr

I am a strong supporter of STEEM,

using it not only as a blogging platform, but to exchange, buy, and sell fiat currency and real world goods. How do you transfer money, anywhere in the world, within three seconds?

Steem and the Steemit blockchain ecosystem are incredible technologies. I believe Steemit and all its many benefits are seriously undervalued, even by most of the people who post and interact here regularly.

Do you like pencils without erasers? ~ Image courtesy of olaf

I have of course had issues with Steemit.

In fact I lobbied, literally for years, to get Steemit to actually release the long-promised ability to edit all posts as needed. In my article above, I explain why. Thank God, it is now possible to edit any post, at least via the right "front end."

I'm not above ranting.

There is in fact one extremely annoying, ongoing, unresolved issue that has me at odds with Steemit, and (if you get out your earplugs) you can read about it here:

STOP SCREWING WITH THE U/I! ~ Image courtesy of ErikaWittlieb

But I would much rather create.

That's why I'm known here as @creatr. Well, I would have been @creator, but as you can see, someone got here before me to claim that name.

The name creator is one that I revel in. Note that I'm not in competition with "The Big Guy"—I don't use a capital 'c'—it's that I so admire Jesus/God's handiwork that I strive to imitate his creative nature whenever possible.

I write poetry and I'm attempting to pioneer new genres somewhat difficult to categorize. They combines elements of Science Fiction, Theology, Fantasy, and Speculative History. Here's my finest example thus far, "Too Much of a Good Thing":

"Too Much of a Good Thing" ~ Image courtesy of Open Clipart Vectors

I am most excited,

perhaps, to share this next story with you. I'm working on turning it into an eBook.

It's a series of fictional accounts—written in the form of letters—that tell you where I'm going. How could I possibly believe what I believe about my incredibly amazing future, and not want desperately to share it with you?

If you read none of the other articles in this "Get To Know Me" compilation, I hope you will come back and take the time to sample and think about "Whispering Hope - ~Forbidden Tales~ From Your Bright Future":

Whispering Hope ~ Image courtesy of Glen Jackson

"Whispering Hope - ~Forbidden Tales~ From Your Bright Future"

In this theological fantasy—a work of fiction, but grounded in what I believe to be ultimate truth—I hope to convey to you what heaven is really like—and I mean the real heaven, not the watered-down version you are most likely already familiar with.

Won't you look into the possibility of joining me there? Feel free to ask me about it.

Last, and perhaps most important,

I'd like to welcome you to one of my proudest accomplishments on Steemit.

When I began this article, I thought it would be a struggle to come up with ten posts to share with you. Boy, was I wrong! And so, I'll leave you with my way to get around this...

As front ends go, Steemit dot com leaves so much to be desired. Readers who visit your blog find a linear, purely chronologically ordered list of whatever.

With such an unimaginative presentation, you are only as good as your most recent article. How sad.

Not every article may be of long term value, but my goal on Steemit is and has always been to create the highest quality content. I'm something of a perfectionist, and hate to publish anything without giving it my best effort.

Consider this: Steemit is a blockchain. What goes on the blockchain—at least theoretically—is there to stay, forever. Have you considered the value of that alone? Steemit is a permanent archive for your writing.

Welcome To My Library! ~ Image courtesy of Gabriel Sollmann

Welcome To My Library!

Some have created indices on external websites to organize and present their Steemit content in a fashion superior to the Steemit, Inc. experience. I have begun to succeed in doing so right here on the blockchain itself.

If you've at all enjoyed getting to know me in this sampling, I hope you'll visit my library from time to time. It is very much a work in progress, but I intend to continue developing it so that anyone interested can have easy, indexed access to all the content I create.

~FIN~

Note: If you're reading this after the payout window has closed,
you can still reward it: CLICK HERE.

LOOK! Check out our amazing product:

Introducing: The SILVERengines proton - Image by @creatr
CONTACT US - Will Exchange for Steem

Thanks for your time and attention.
You are why I'm here on Steemit!
I have very eclectic interests and hope, over time, to write about them all.