Contrary to popular belief, introverts love people. I know I do. We just don't socialize that often because it drains us. We need some time to recharge because our energy comes from our time alone. But that isn't the talk of this post, I'm going to share with you some tales about the 6th Steemit Meetup that happened yesterday - through the eyes and mind of an introvert.

The Venue

Dolce Cafe, Cebu City. The 6th Cebu Steemit meetup venue

It was my first time in the Dolce Cafe but it didn't take long for the cafe girl in me to love the place. All the corners were so pretty and it helped that @ybanezkim26 and I came early. While waiting for the other Steemians to arrive, we made the most of our waiting time by taking pictures.

Dolce Cafe interior aka pretty corner 1

Dolce Cafe interior aka pretty corner 2

Dolce Cafe breads, cakes and pastries aka pretty corner 3

The People

Steemians slowly filling the room up

We were greeted by fellow early birds @itinerantph, @mikekenlytungal and @davids-tales. A bit of awkwardness started to creep up from inside me but @itinerantph was so warm with his welcome that it felt like I've already known him for quite a while. Aside from being warm, he was supportive as well. I didn't have that much knowledge about the Steemit leaders in Cebu but I had a feeling that he was one of them. I was lucky that @ybanezkim26 knew a lot about the community. I intended to meet the Steemians in person before I got to know them through their blogs because I wanted to put a face to their names. Because this introvert was feeling a bit social, I wanted to create not only connections online but in real life too!

I and @ybanezkim26 squeezing in some time for a selfie

More Steemians filling up the room

The Lectures and Inputs

@mikekenlytungal sharing to active Steemians fundamental Steemit concepts

@itinerantph sharing to active Steemians his informative inputs about the platform and @iamwhatiamnot listening intently

@mikkenlytungal shared an overview of the Steemit platform's technicalities. He covered the Steemit basics, the Steem currencies and the other ways to earn through D-tube and Utopian. @purepinay shared her insights as well. She encouraged us to interact with other Steemians on their blogs. It was inspiring to know that she always had the Cebuano Steemians' backs. @itinerantph encouraged me to share my personal project with the group and I'm so thankful that he gave me the opportunity to do so.

The Confidence Project is an initiative that is so important to me. It meant so much to me that fellow Steemians showed their support. My friends and I can't wait to have all of you on board with us, you guys!

The Aftermath

Knowing and brushing up our knowledge of the platform was good and all. But for me, the highlight of the meetup was what happened after. The feeling of awkwardness was barely there as strangers turned into familiar faces. We had one too many group pictures and I'm sure you've probably seen them on the Cebuano Steemians' blogs since last night. Allow me to share with you some of the reasons why I considered the aftermath the highlight of the meetup.

A connection made known through Steemit. Meeting @josejirafa for the first time

I came to know @josejirafa through his commenting on my posts. He said that my boyfriend was a senior of his in high school. Our connection was a testament to what @purepinay said that interaction in the comments section can lead to a connection. @ybanezkim26 had a similar experience too. He met a schoolmate of his, @bonjovey, in the meetup too! He said that he even barely knew her then, but Steemit gave them a chance to get to know each other all over again. Though I haven't had the chance to take a picture with her, I met the awesome @tegoshei there too. Her name keeps appearing on my feed and it was so nice to know that we work in the same company.

from L-R: @josejirafa, @ybanezkim26, @honeyletsgo, @thegaillery, @, @maimaimaichan and @jassennessaj

Hearing what made the other Steemians join the platform allowed me to sum their reasons up in these 3 p's - passion, practicality and the people. I've heard of Steemians who are honing their crafts, investing in the cryptocurrency market, living their dream nomadic lives all the while not breaking the bank! There are others who stayed because of the people they've met, people who show support because that's how they want to give back and people like me who want to make the world a little better through our blogs. I got to know @jassennesaj there too, he ticks off all of the three p's by the way.

@bonjovey's house interiors

Remember @bonjovey? She invited us to her house at Jardin de Busay. What started out as a cafe meetup to some place I've never been before turned into a trip to another place I've also never been! This introvert was way out of her comfort zone, but I was having so much fun. I didn't want it to end.

The Steemians dined on chicken and donuts. There's nothing like good food and good stories to unite Cebuanos. @xsasj and @rcarter though foreigners, were quite familiar with the culture I'm sure. These two made the night memorable for me as well. @xsasj was telling me about her life in the Netherlands and how she believes in living her life her way. She shared that she was a bit of an introvert too. @rcarter explained the complexity of the platform's technicalities in a simple way which enlightened me to some extent.

Newly-formed friendship powered by Steemit

This girl, @honeyletsgo, made my night quite memorable as well. She comes off as a bubbly and cheerful girl but don't let her features fool you. She's a talented singer with a heart that life made tough. @ybanezkim26 and I look forward to catching up with this girl really soon.

Karaoke king and queens

@honeyletsgo, @bonjovey, @ybanezkim26 and I marked our territory - the karaoke station! We ended the night singing OPM, ballad, rock, rap and pop songs. It was the first time this year that I laughed as hard as I did.

TLDR

Steemit means so much more to me now than ever. As this community grows, I hope I grow with it too.

Looking forward to more meetups,
@thegaillery