It was September, 2017 when I started using Steemit. Back then, I was trying out a lot of ways in earning easy money online. To be honest, there is no way to earn a lot of money the easy way. You had to work hard to earn some good money, that was the problem for me. So I tried creating content for my Steemit account, it was really hard and time consuming for me, given that I rarely read books and my writing skills are rubbish. It was somehow easy at first because I just had to introduce myself and write about my life. I got surprised on how big(relatively) my Steem Power was for a beginner. I just ignored it.
Eventually, I got busier in my studies and I went hiatus on Steemit. I didn't even bother checking out my account. Months passed and the semester was over, I decided to start using Steemit again. Here I am again, posting random content for about 3 weeks when suddenly, my voting power was really low. I was already aware that my voting power decreases every time I vote, and it refreshes after 24 hours. But this time, more than a day has passed but my voting power was still low, so I decided to check on my Wallet. I was shocked to see that I lost my delegated Steem Power. Heck it was even larger than my non-delegated Steem Power, meaning, I lost more than a half of my voting power.
(GIF source from giphy.com)
I read some posts regarding this and I'm going to name some facts for you guys. First of all, the delegated Steem Power doesn't belong to you in the first place. It was "entrusted" to you by Steemit. Think of it as a loan. As a beginner, Steemit loans you some Steem Power until your account is big enough to stand on its own. Eventually, they take this back and as the Filipino expression goes, Bahala ka na sa buhay mo ("Do whatever you want with your life", in English). They don't even notify you prior to taking away your delegated Steem Power. I know it sounds harsh but that's just the way it goes. I just learned my biggest lesson in Steemit, NEVER WASTE YOUR TIME. I had poor time management and now look at my account. I learned my lesson the hard way, and I wish you won't, dear Steemians. Take advantage of your delegated Steem Power and use it wisely.
Cheers!