"Introvert Talks" is meant to be a new initiative or theme, where I myself as an introvert, just talk about reflections and thoughts about my life, or maybe share more personal stuff. :)
This is my weekly post under this "Introvert Talks" theme and let's see where it takes me and us.
Validation is such a strange thing sometimes.
And it came when I was not expecting it as well.
So 11 days ago, I wrote this post on World Map Pin, documenting my adventure in New Zealand. I must admit that travel posts tend to get more attention in general, and naturally more upvotes. I think it's because many people like to explore the world, and not everyone has the means as well as the time to see every single corner in the world, so reading travel posts is kind of a substitute to travelling to the actual place.
I would always remember during the Covid period, people were writing about the own cities (because of travel restrictions), and it's so fascinating to be able to "explore the world" when I am confined to my little room. And it took me a while to take the first step to do my own travel posts, and the response from the community was so heartening.
So back to the post last week, I was very stunned to see the amount of upvotes, and the eventual number came in at 50+ even though the value of Hive was currently quite depressed. And it's weird because it was unexpected. It wasn't a visit to some Wonder of the World and I definitely had posts with more breathtaking photos before, and they didn't get this level of hearts and curation. Well I am lucky. And for that, I am definitely thankful, not just for the upvotes, but also the validation and appreciation behind each vote.
The icing on the cake was this message from 
Well, I don't know if it's accurate or not, but that made my day. Being on Hive for just 4 years, and just doing my own things and engaging with people whom I can click with, receiving this badge of honour in a way showed me how far my Hive journey has come, how much the community has supported me, and to all the 1098 votes, whether it's from manual voting or curation trials, I just want to say "thank you". Literally, like what they say, every vote counts. And 11 days, the Hive community gave me this badge of honour.
And if you are someone newer to Hive, I hope my sharing also provides some encouragement, not just about the monetary awards, but how magical writing on Hive can be. There might be days where you might feel discouraged when your posts are not getting enough attention, but I am sure with perseverance, your effort will be recognised in one form or another.
And that's all I have for my little self-talk session! Thanks for reading!