I've been putting this off all week because actually sitting down to write my thoughts about something gives me existential heartburn, but 
cries
Snook made this here posty which asks the following questions:
How did I get here?
Why am I still here?
These questions initially struck me as funny because my mind automatically went into existential crisis mode....
WHY AM I HERE??????
I'm procrastinating again ...
Apologies ...
How did I get here?
The year was 2017
The month ... May
It was a dark and stormy night ...
sends out the rest of the story psychically
Dammit that didn't work.
Ok, I found out about the Steem blockchain through 
He was watching videos about the Keto diet on YouTube and came across one made by Andrachy where he happened to mention Steemit.
Shane made an intro post that received $38.
He was very excited.
At the time, I was in the process of being lost ... feeling burnt out with creating music and with teaching ... and I was taking steps to create an online shop.
Shane told me to make an intro post.
I made one and it received 7 cents lol
Still, I was intrigued that simply sharing something online could generate an income.
A couple of days later I posted a video of me playing the Charlie Brown song.
I logged in the next day to see that it received a huge Curie vote of $288!
I was floored.
I didn't know what Curie was and I actually didn't understand anything about Steemit, Steem, blockchain, or crypto.
Within a week of my joining, 
Shane and I joined and the rest, as they say, is history ...
Why am I still here?
Basically, one thing leads to another and what you choose to do every day just becomes ingrained in your life.
Steem is my life lol
I'm here every day.
- I became a mod at Palnet
- Started curating for Minnow Support
- Made a bunch of friends in Palnet, Helpie, The Alliance, The Ramble, Steem Chat, and OCD.
- Became a member of the Splinterland team as Director of Music
- Started the Creative Coin and Sonic Groove tribes
- And just recently started curating for OCD
Ok, you just listed a bunch of stuff you do, but why are you still here???
I like trying to help other artists.
I know what it is like to be a starving artist and to feel like creativity is undervalued so running weekly contests and curating makes me feel good.
I also like sharing my own creations.
I was feeling pretty burnt out creatively before Steem and now I feel creative again and I enjoy sharing my art and music.
I believe in Steem.
I just do.
I like building up my stake.
I started with nothing and now I have close to 25,000 SP!
I'm very proud of that as I have worked really hard for the last 2 1/2 years.
People.
I've made a bunch of friends here.
And in the words of the immortal Aggroed..."You are all lovely people."