Think about it, it eventually gets old, you get tired of saying goodbye to a lover, a friend, a place or an experience so often. One can only endure so much pain or ache of constant farewell and, it gets to a point where you simply stop being emotional about it and take things as they come, try to get the most out of the experience and move on as soon as it's over.
I've been able to do that for the past year - yep, my first year of traveling was full of heartaches and sad goodbyes, I had to learn for the 2nd year - and somehow I'm able to compartmentalize emotions (or not feeling them at all) when it comes to saying goodbye. I focus in being here and now and I don't even think about the past or the future regarding friends, family, lovers, places or experiences.
I was doing a great job until I met you, you bunch of weirdos.
I was expecting this Steemfest to be different than the one I attended in Lisbon but man, I didn't expect it to be completely and astoundingly different.
First of all - and this is only my point of view, I have no data to back this up - last year was a Whales, devs and investors Steemfest with the occasional dolphin and minnow; this year, everywhere I looked I saw a minnow having a conversation with a community leader and a small dolphin. This was the people's Steemfest if you may. All the community focused Steemians, the engagers, the high quality content creators were here.
If you ask me, that is one of the most positive things I take from these 5 days. The Core of the community - not the coin - came from all over the world to create new relationships, strengthen old alliances, share a project or idea and especially to meet all the people behind the username.
This five days felt as meeting old friends, I even felt among family at one point.
As long as we, the community core stay committed and focused in growing Steem, I don't care if another million users come and go, because we'll still be here thriving to make Steem the best version of itself it can be. The quitters will come back eventually.
On the other hand, I feel sad. I couldn't be emotionally detached regarding this event and the people who were part of it and right now, while I'm doing my laundry in front of my hostel a few blocks from the Qubus and the main bar area (you wouldn't know about what area I'm speaking about, right?) I realized I'm going to be very nostalgic about these week with you, Steemians.
I would say I miss you, but one can only miss something or someone that can actually come back or be again. But Steem Fest 3 is never coming back, is not a girlfriend you miss because she left for a month, it's not a city you'll come back to. SF3 will never occur again; Krakow will never have 350 Crypto crazies roaming around the city with a Yellow scarf around their necks; Poland can't ever be the same and I will never be the same.
So yeah, I can't say I'll miss you. What I can say, and I think its way more painful, is that I'll feel nostalgic about these few days with you. I will wake up some days feeling a chronic nostalgia about Krakow and about how we changed paradigms and proved that yes, even a bunch of strangers whose only interaction is through a blockchain based social media, can become friends and to some extent, become a family.
Thank you all for attending, thank you all for the beers shared, thank you for the conversations and most importantly, thank you for the daily tens of hugs I got from you.
You are awesome, weirdos.