I have decided to keep this article 100% honest. Ever since I joined steemit, there’s been a change in how I spend my free time.
The usual things I did were definitely exciting and productive, but didn’t help my financial state, so steemit totally got dibbs on them. So in a jiffy, I’m gonna take you through what I used to engage myself with before steemit.
I play basketball, well, I totally suck but at least it’s fun and exercising. I’m quite good dribbling but when it comes to shooting, I suck.
I play video games, preferences are soccer, racing and adventure/war… in that order. Major console is the PS3, but I guess I’d still kill it on any other console.
I enjoy swimming, but I guess I need my friends around for that, if not, it’d just be boring… and I could totally just drown.
I love being at the beach to let off some steam, well, some steem too. Lol! But definitely with friends and family.
Well, I do enjoy my occasional chats with the ladies, but I wouldn’t categorize it as a hobby, but it is sometimes relieving and entertaining.
I haven’t been much of an online guy, friends always act so devastated when they don’t have their data subscriptions active, I’d just be complacent because I didn’t even do much online in the first place. But I don’t need to say how much all that has changed since steemit, it’s almost like a part of me is missing when I don’t have an active subscription.
I haven’t been the most enthusiastic reader or writer my whole life, but I have to say, I have been enjoying writing lately. Sometimes I feel so impressed with myself, proud even, for some of my work, although the pay doesn’t speak for them.
I think it would be safe to say that my newly developed hobby is writing. I enjoy writing stories I make up spontaneously. I can’t even lie, this was developed because I had to participate in some writing contests, but now, I just post stories regularly or just write as a medium of self-expression. Usually, when bothered or bored, I’d just pace and play some scenarios in my head, but now, I pick up my laptop and just type. Well, people around me keep saying I should keep doing what I’m doing and eventually, I’d get better rewards. That’s cool, but I wasn’t gonna stop either way, because writing has become something I enjoy and not just a means to an end. But it’s totally awesome that one gets rewarded for doing something one enjoys.
I guess there is this drive to write because it puts me in the driving sit and I’m in control and things go just as I say. I determine who lives and who dies… well, I feel like my favorite writer, George R.R Martin… writer of the story the series Game Of Thrones is based on. So when life seems rough, which happens most of the time because little things that could be solved with money really pose a major threat. So writing has become an escape pod for me when things become scary. All I have to do is pick up a note pad and create an entire universe, well, I’m sure someone in that universe would have more problems than I do.
As an hobby, I haven’t been at it for so long, in fact, I think it’s safe to say I’ve been writing since the year began. But by the day, I think my ability to write longer has improved amongst other things. I have become more dynamic with my words and perspective, in that I could write something and id have an idea of how the story would end, but by the end of the story id totally seen an entirely different conclusion, sometimes, most times, even I get impressed with the twists. I believe I have a better view on things, I appreciate life and nature more to say the least. When I get in a situation, I stay open minded instead of flipping or panicking, I try to see things from different perspective, and most times I get a good story or write up from something tragic.
I can’t even begin to express my new found respect for authors, because a story of even 500 words could take 2 days to finish. Writing is very demanding and challenging, I may still be a novice at it, but I do enjoy it. It’s distracting and even therapeutic at times. When I’d be in a sore mood that could only be toxic to those around me, I just let it all out on my notepad and it totally helps me get better.
I’m a student of the University Of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. I study medicine and surgery, I know I don’t have to mention how demanding it is, but it’s very demanding! Sometimes I get home and I can’t do anything but sleep, even if I was hungry. So if I barely have time to eat, you can imagine how getting time to write would be constrained. Sometimes I write little by little until a post is complete. So I guess that’s the downside to this, it’s not so available for me, as ironic as it seems. But I’ve been able to incorporate it into my lifestyle lately, I try completing some work with the little free time I get, so I guess with some compromise, I could make this work completely.
I guess I owe steemit one, because though it instigated the hobby, is now the secondary attraction. It has given me a medium to share my thoughts, troubles and work. Sometimes I just send the stories to some friends or show them right away, and they seem to enjoy the stories as hard as it is for them to give me compliments.
Another constraint about writing would be the time consumption. I could totally use the same time I spend writing reading my books. But I guess life is about priorities and compromise. But under no circumstance do I place writing over my studies. So with proper time planning, I could totally balance these.
Lol! 
