I'm so happy to be here! My first post.... #introduceyourself

Hello fellow Steemians!

I am so excited to finally be a part of Steem Nation!

My name is Laura. I am 33 years old and I live in the United Kingdom in the county of Kent. I have spent a lot of my adult life living in various towns and cities within the UK but I recently returned to the town where I spent my childhood and teenage years, home if you will.

My partner in the world is Charlie, he is 37 and he has introduced me to so many things that now captivate my interests and are a part of my life. He spends a lot of his time researching and educating himself on his interests and often shares relevant knowledge with me. Once we are familiar with Steemit, Charlie will undoubtedly set up his own account.

Only very recently I have been researching block chain technology and crypto-currencies and the more I hear, the more appealing it becomes and this has already led to me wanting to get involved in this fascinating new concept.

I have always enjoyed writing, and have received a few compliments for things that I have produced. I hope to now share some of these things in the hope that they will help anyone who can relate to my words, as some people have claimed that they have before. I have always had a desire to publish some of my pieces, but I have never found a suitable platform for it. Steemit is the ideal answer to this for me.

The subjects that have interested me enough to write about are understandably topics that I can relate to for one reason or another, they include (but are by no means restricted to):

Mental Health
Particularly Bipolar, Borderline Personality Disorder and Depression. I have written many poems about these illnesses that have been well received by illness specific forums.

Photography / Enjoying Outside & Nature
I enjoy taking long walks in scenic countryside, beaches and estuaries. Some of the places we visit are amazing and I will be sharing some of the photographs we take and write about the wonderful places and natural life that we find.

I took this photograph a few weeks ago at Detling Hill, near Maidstone, Kent. Charlie and I spontaneously walked the Kent downs. It was beautiful.

Tonge Mill taken by me July 2017. This is a very peaceful place with an interesting history and a beautiful pond. There has been a water mill there for more than 900 years. The current building has been there since 1837.

Music
Music has been a comfort to me my whole life. I like to hear it, dance to it, play it, and sing it (Not very well I hasten to add). There is a genre or artist for every mood and some of these have captured my interest and my heart more than others.

History /The present world / our future
As new things arise (like crypto-currency is currently and the internet and mobile phones once were, etc...) World-changing inventions can take time to understand for many people. It can make a huge difference to world if we all try to understand and share the information as and when we learn it. I like to try to keep up with the changes in the world, but I consider it to be as equally important to learn about our history and how we got to where we are.

Crafting / Gift-making
I enjoy creating gifts, scrapbooks and cards. I like to give hand-made gifts to the special people in my life. I like to share pictures of my creations and welcome feedback as I am always looking to improve my work!

Healthy Lifestyle – I do not live a super-healthy lifestyle, however I like to slowly work towards living one. I have recently been introduced to smoothies and the power of real food. I try to eat an organic plant-based diet as much as possible. I suffer from health conditions that have improved considerably because of my revised diet and chosen supplements. I have lost a lot of weight in a short space of time too. I would like to share what I have learnt so far so that other people can see if it can improve their well-being in any way.

Visiting new places
It doesn’t matter whether it is near or far. I love visiting somewhere new, experiencing different culture, learning the history of somewhere and just taking in the wonder of anywhere I have not seen before.

July 2017 - Hothfield Nature Reserve

I am happy to voice my thoughts and opinions when I believe in the subject, I have an extremely open-mind and will not stick to an opinion out of stubbornness if I am to be proved wrong. I believe that it is important to be open to criticism and suggestion; otherwise we are unable to learn the truth. Steemit seems to be a good place for this to happen.

For me personally, I look forward to seeing all the positive changes that are now going to be possible in the world because of this fantastic revolutionary creation. Millions of more people can now be heard and educated and I do not see how this can be a bad thing. And the thought of no corruption is very appealing.

Steemit is an impressive platform for writers and creators and from what I can see it is growing rapidly and giving many more people the opportunity to receive an income doing something that they enjoy – I am delighted to be a part of it!