In December 2017 my life was turned completely upside down and absolutely everything in my immediate sphere changed. We were on holiday at my dad’s house, as we usually visit him during the festive season. For a long time prior I had been discussing with him (and with others) that I was really beginning to take strain with the constant pressures and stress of my business. Owning a small to medium enterprise in the current South African economic climate is not for sissies I will tell you that! I had kept that ship sailing for 11 years and I was mentally and emotionally depleted.

During the holiday, I woke up one morning and picked up my phone. There was an email from the landlord for the commercial property which I rented. Now, before I get to the email, let me just add that two years prior, that shark of a man had allowed one of his good mates to open an identical business literally 3 doors away from mine – and although this was really bad business practice and incredibly unethical of him, my efforts to fight it failed, so preference of what I am about to share clearly went to the mate and not to me. Back to the email – I opened it up and in short, it told me that my lease on the two adjoined properties would not be extended and that I was to be out within the month - Three weeks to be exact.

I went cold! I read it again an again. There are no words fit to describe the level of shock and stress I was hurled into at that moment. That was my livelihood and had been for 11 years! That was my bread and butter and that of two other people as well. Eleven years of blood, sweat and tears and poof it’s just gone?! I was dumbfounded. As the reality of the email began to set in and I thought to myself there was absolutely no way I could afford to move the business as the costs to re-shape an entirely empty shell would have been enormous! This was really it! It was over, my hands were tied, there were no options, no loop holes and no way of resolve.

Despite my passion for that business and industry, I began to realise that internally, I had been feeling the urgency to get out of it more and more as the years ticked on. My ability to swallow the stress and continuously tread water was killing me from the inside out. As I began to contemplate my life without it, I noticed that I was actually overcome by a sense of relief. This was actually what I had wanted for a very long time but I did not know how to go about it and was overwhelmed with the fear and guilt of actually going through with it. The landlord removed all of that clutter by forcing his hand. After about three days, my dad asked me how I was feeling about it – I smiled and said, "like a ten ton weight has been lifted off my shoulders". Suddenly, I could breathe!

Yes, there were a lot of logistical hurdles I had to go through after that but they were simply details and I got it all done in a matter of weeks… but in that moment, that December – I was granted a gift, one that I was so desperately crying out for and it changed my life forever. Anybody who has been in the design and print industry will know the insane levels of pressure there are and I juggled ALL those balls, being in the position of owner and having a small staff compliment, I handled 90% of the production and "back of house" affairs.

Suddenly, it was all gone. It was a surreal experience actually, because my head went from a state of thought explosion to having literally nothing to think about. Despite the sadness of leaving behind something that I had put so much love and passion into… I was filled with a sense of calm.

This moment in my life also marked the beginning of my full time journey in the world of blogging and here on the Steem network. Re-living that monumental change in my life also got me thinking about how much has happened since then! I joined this space in June 2017 and have never looked back, but it was truly in December 2017 that Steem became a pivotal part of my everyday life, since the time to fully embrace it was suddenly available to me.

When I walked through these doors I knew nothing, in fact I knew less than nothing and it could probably still be debated that I don’t lol, but I have learnt “a few” things along the way. I began exploring the platform and it’s people, started to run contests and began to spread my writers wings. I started the Power House Creatives Community which was known as the Hive account@steemitbloggers back then and that was where a “hobby” turned into a passion and has remained so ever since! From the time I wake up in the morning, to the time I go to bed at night – whether I am operating from my desk or on my mobile whilst out and about, I NEVER stop working for this space and the people within it… constantly thinking about how I can better support those within our community as well as on Steem as a whole.

I have met hundreds of amazing people over the last two years and have formed many great friendships through those meetings. Some of those friendships have remained strong and others have turned into “life lessons”. I have, over time – discovered my voice within the Steem network and have acknowledged and accepted the fact that I have earned the right to have one. I have locked horns with some and simply walked away from others. Some people love me, others loathe me, several have just used me for as long as it was convenient and beneficial and plenty have tried to kick me down along the way, but I have kept my head high and continued on.

I have had days of over flowing enthusiasm and others where I struggled to source the energy to do the things that so many people had become reliant on me doing, but through all of it, at the end of the day – my passion for Steem has never dwindled and I am excited for the way forward now, more than I have ever been. With the revitalising changes and wonderful new faces in our Power House Creatives Community as well as taking the reins of representation for South Africa with the launch of Hive account@steemsouthafrica – I have NO shortage of things to look forward to in 2020.

When I look back at it all, from the start of the journey to now – it evokes so much emotion within me and as I sit here now writing this, I am filled with gratitude for being afforded a “forced” opportunity to get out of the rat race and spend my days doing something that makes me truly happy and positively impacts the lives of so many others around me. Yes, it comes with it’s own set of challenge and baggage – as everything in life does… but irrespective, I would not change it for the world!

My life is filled with beautiful people on and offline, I spend my days doing things I love for people I adore and who appreciate and respect me in return. I wake up in the morning looking FORWARD to the pending agenda and when I go to bed at night, I am excited to contemplate the next day. I went from a constant state of anxiety and stress, having frequent panic attacks and sleepless nights to the complete opposite... a life I only dreamed of just two years ago - One email that changed it all - A blessing in disguise and definitely my best seasonal thought.