Well, the day is finally here. I've finally done it. After more than a year on here...

Okay, I grant that it's not the most Earth-shattering news ever to be transmitted to the blockchain, but this is a huge step for me. I never really expected to reach these heights in any sort of reasonable time period, and given my hiatus at the tail-end of 2016 and the first few months of 2017, I figured I was far enough behind that I'd get lost in the burgeoning background noise that is all the accounts signing up to Steemit.

But here I am! 1000 of you thought that what I was posting and sharing was important enough to add me to your feeds. For that, I thank you.

I wanted to take this occasion to look back on everything that's happened in the last six months, and what a different place I'm at now than when I came back. As some of you are aware, I took a break from Steemit this past winter to finish writing my novel, which I've titled A Darkness Below. I've been releasing it in chapter form here on the platform so I can get some editing feedback, and you all have been more than generous with your upvotes and praise.

I also ended up divorced by the time I came back here. I've discussed the reasons before, so I'm not going to aggravate the fresh scars, but suffice it to say the fault was mine. It's been a hell of a time trying to put that past me, but thanks to your kind words and your support, I've grown into a better person; a better man, with care for my community on here. I've even managed to find someone who loves me in spite of my numerous flaws and defects: @ladymaharet. Thank you so much for believing in me, even when I'm swamped with all the work I have to do!

I start law school. This has been, by far, the single most difficult episode of my life. The workload is intense, even if I can and do understand the subject material and have a natural affinity for it. That's the reason I'm not posting as much as I'd like to. Hell, law school is the reason why I have yet to make another post for my Adventures in Law School series. lol

I think the biggest change since coming up, and likely what's driven me up to 1000 followers from just over 200 in April was my involvement with the Minnow Support Project. That group of misfits is easily one of my favorite places to be, and they've become a second family to me. My work with the Fiction Workshop helped me to become a better author, and although the Workshop has split into its own project, I have much respect for those involved with both. I'll be spending my time between them, and, if you've been listening to Fictioneer's radio, don't worry; we'll be broadcasting our show through my Twitch channel at the same time as before. I'll make sure to include a link when we post the preview for this week's show.

It's thanks to the people at MSP and other friends I've made here that I started to run my own witness node. I've followed @someguy123's model for establishing my witness node, and I'm very thrilled to say that, in the month and a half that I've been running it, I've almost cracked into the top 100. It's been a privilege to be more deeply involved in Steemit as more than just a blogger, and I've got plenty to look forward to on the horizon.

To put it simply, a lot has happened, and I have all of you to thank for getting me here from where I was. All of you have followed and supported me, I offer you my sincerest thanks, and I hope I keep living up to the standard of quality you've come to expect. Here's to the next 1000 followers!