Contrary to popular belief, introverts love people. I know I do. We just don't socialize that often because it drains us. We need some time to recharge because our energy comes from our time alone. But that isn't the talk of this post, I'm going to share with you some tales about the 6th Steemit Meetup that happened yesterday - through the eyes and mind of an introvert.
The Venue
Dolce Cafe, Cebu City. The 6th Cebu Steemit meetup venue
It was my first time in the Dolce Cafe but it didn't take long for the cafe girl in me to love the place. All the corners were so pretty and it helped that 
Hive account@ybanezkim26 and I came early. While waiting for the other Steemians to arrive, we made the most of our waiting time by taking pictures.
Dolce Cafe interior aka pretty corner 1
Dolce Cafe interior aka pretty corner 2
Dolce Cafe breads, cakes and pastries aka pretty corner 3
The People
Steemians slowly filling the room up
We were greeted by fellow early birds 
Hive account@itinerantph, 
Hive account@mikekenlytungal and 
Hive account@davids-tales. A bit of awkwardness started to creep up from inside me but Hive account@itinerantph was so warm with his welcome that it felt like I've already known him for quite a while. Aside from being warm, he was supportive as well. I didn't have that much knowledge about the Steemit leaders in Cebu but I had a feeling that he was one of them. I was lucky that Hive account@ybanezkim26 knew a lot about the community. I intended to meet the Steemians in person before I got to know them through their blogs because I wanted to put a face to their names. Because this introvert was feeling a bit social, I wanted to create not only connections online but in real life too!
More Steemians filling up the room
The Lectures and Inputs
Hive account@mikekenlytungal sharing to active Steemians fundamental Steemit concepts
Hive account@mikkenlytungal shared an overview of the Steemit platform's technicalities. He covered the Steemit basics, the Steem currencies and the other ways to earn through D-tube and Utopian. 
Hive account@purepinay shared her insights as well. She encouraged us to interact with other Steemians on their blogs. It was inspiring to know that she always had the Cebuano Steemians' backs. Hive account@itinerantph encouraged me to share my personal project with the group and I'm so thankful that he gave me the opportunity to do so.
The Confidence Project is an initiative that is so important to me. It meant so much to me that fellow Steemians showed their support. My friends and I can't wait to have all of you on board with us, you guys!
The Aftermath
Knowing and brushing up our knowledge of the platform was good and all. But for me, the highlight of the meetup was what happened after. The feeling of awkwardness was barely there as strangers turned into familiar faces. We had one too many group pictures and I'm sure you've probably seen them on the Cebuano Steemians' blogs since last night. Allow me to share with you some of the reasons why I considered the aftermath the highlight of the meetup.
A connection made known through Steemit. Meeting 
Hive account@josejirafa for the first time
I came to know Hive account@josejirafa through his commenting on my posts. He said that my boyfriend was a senior of his in high school. Our connection was a testament to what Hive account@purepinay said that interaction in the comments section can lead to a connection. Hive account@ybanezkim26 had a similar experience too. He met a schoolmate of his, 
Hive account@bonjovey, in the meetup too! He said that he even barely knew her then, but Steemit gave them a chance to get to know each other all over again. Though I haven't had the chance to take a picture with her, I met the awesome 
Hive account@tegoshei there too. Her name keeps appearing on my feed and it was so nice to know that we work in the same company.
Hearing what made the other Steemians join the platform allowed me to sum their reasons up in these 3 p's - passion, practicality and the people. I've heard of Steemians who are honing their crafts, investing in the cryptocurrency market, living their dream nomadic lives all the while not breaking the bank! There are others who stayed because of the people they've met, people who show support because that's how they want to give back and people like me who want to make the world a little better through our blogs. I got to know 
Hive account@jassennesaj there too, he ticks off all of the three p's by the way.
Remember Hive account@bonjovey? She invited us to her house at Jardin de Busay. What started out as a cafe meetup to some place I've never been before turned into a trip to another place I've also never been! This introvert was way out of her comfort zone, but I was having so much fun. I didn't want it to end.
The Steemians dined on chicken and donuts. There's nothing like good food and good stories to unite Cebuanos. 
Hive account@xsasj and 
Hive account@rcarter though foreigners, were quite familiar with the culture I'm sure. These two made the night memorable for me as well. Hive account@xsasj was telling me about her life in the Netherlands and how she believes in living her life her way. She shared that she was a bit of an introvert too. Hive account@rcarter explained the complexity of the platform's technicalities in a simple way which enlightened me to some extent.
Newly-formed friendship powered by Steemit
This girl, 
Hive account@honeyletsgo, made my night quite memorable as well. She comes off as a bubbly and cheerful girl but don't let her features fool you. She's a talented singer with a heart that life made tough. Hive account@ybanezkim26 and I look forward to catching up with this girl really soon.
Karaoke king and queens
Hive account@honeyletsgo, Hive account@bonjovey, Hive account@ybanezkim26 and I marked our territory - the karaoke station! We ended the night singing OPM, ballad, rock, rap and pop songs. It was the first time this year that I laughed as hard as I did.
TLDR
Steemit means so much more to me now than ever. As this community grows, I hope I grow with it too.
Looking forward to more meetups,
Hive account@thegaillery
listening intently
and 