Hi Christopher, (my son's name is Kristopher with a K ;-)
I too do this on a self-development level. As you have likely noticed, Eng is not my native language, so Steemit is good for my English and especially for my writing.

Steemit is different, different from anything I've ever done online and it stretches my abilities and knowledge in new, various ways. I feel like I am growing here.

And there is, of course, that income part, a chance to build some kind of a retirement income fund, which is important for me, for in spite of my own brick and mortar business (landscaping and gardening) and years online, I still haven't started.

As to me being your mentor here, no chances, I am just a newbie too, the only difference is that I read some of the how-to posts and you did not ;-)

Yes, you have a vast perspective on writing here

I really want to have all of my existing work and life on here just so if I die there is a permanent record on a blockchain forever. Kind of a spiritual trail of my most inner self

so I would not worry anymore :-)

Oh, and please look here: https://steemit.com/trending/cryptocurrency
and here: https://steemit.com/@haejin
and maybe consider using your skills for some crypto price predictions, here's a huge market for it.