Note: See #homesteadingchallenge announcement article for theme and rules.

First of all, I have to say thank you to everyone who participated in the first round of the #homesteadingchallenge! I expected 1-2 submissions, maybe 3 if I was lucky, but I NEVER expected the overwhelmingly positive response that it received…

There were TEN submissions made for this challenge and I highly recommend you take the time to read them!!!

• “Homesteading is Important to Me…” by Hive account@farmstead
• “#homesteadingchallenge Steemit HomesteadingChallenge 1” by Hive account@carpenterbee
• “Homesteading is Important to me …” by Hive account@jayjayjeffery
• “Homesteading is important to me because….” by Hive account@greenacrehome
• “Homesteading Challenge…The WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and WHY I Homestead!” by Hive account@gardengirlcanada
• “Why I am a Homesteader” by Hive account@stortebeker
• “Homesteading is Important to Me Because…” by Hive account@bthompson
• “Homesteading Saved My Life!” by Hive account@sthomestead
• “Homesteading is important to me because..” by Hive account@clarkfarmstead
• "Homesteading is important to me because.... -- Homesteading Challenge 1" by Hive account@haphazard-hstead

I truly enjoyed reading each and every article posted and seeing the variety of answers. The goal of this challenge was to bring the Steemit homesteading community together and I could see from the supportive comments on each posted article that we are achieving that goal. I am very proud of you all, not just for participating in this challenge yourselves, but for reading and supporting your fellow homesteaders’ stories as well.

Now, it was very hard to pick a winner… I wanted to choose all of them for different, specific reasons! All of the stories and personal reasons behind your homesteading ventures were incredibly touching and genuine, but the name of the game is to choose onethat really stood out and made an impression on me. So without further ado…