It's my third anniversary of signing up for Steem. When I originally signed up I didn't have huge expectations. Learn about crypto and earn a bit of Steem. I didn't expect to get emotionally involved.
In the early days: I landed on Steem in the middle of the trending page with barely any crypto knowledge beyond having heard of Bitcoin, I had a lot to learn. It was August of 2016 and Steem was ranked 6th on the CoinMarketCap.
During my early days of Steem we talked a lot about the social experiment of Steem. We don't talk about that much anymore, but everyone recognized we had more questions than answers about how it all would work.
Love is a verb, which means you end up bonded and loving those things that you put sweat and tears into.
It took me a long time to build my account at the peak price of Steem it was once worth $94.000 (briefly and on paper)
I'm not going to say watching it slide back down to where it sits today wasn't hard.
I don't know anymore whether Steem is an investment or a hobby, but my posts still earn more here than they do on other sites.
Here are some gains I got from Steem:
Hours of exposure to Cryptocurrencies and now they work.
Which lead to many crypto investments and knowledge on how to buy, sell and use crypto, I do not take this lightly, it is a difficult task for those who first consider it.
The realization I will never write a novel.
Many great contacts who will also remain in cryptocurrency
My illusions of Freedom have been adjusted to be more realistic
A place to think through and talk about ideas.
I don't have a lot of expectations at this time of what Steem will and will not be in the future.
If you are new check your expectations! There are many who have big dreams, but at some point there has to also be some evidence. That is no reason to avoid Steem, just keep reasonable expectations.
Steem is more about Networking than Content. No one is going to shower you will rewards for showing up. You nearly have to pry Steem out of the system. Make friends, find a nitch, support all things Steem. Seek a peer circle rather than Dolphin and Whale votes as the numbers do not support seeking big votes.
Make friends and grow with them. In the long run, it pays off. There are plenty of paths to success find someone you consider successful and emulate them.
I think there is a decent chance I will be making a post next year too.
I just keep on posting...
Edited to add that I forgot to mention I met 
(I do enjoy Zeke!)