I'm the first to admit I don't do too good in crowds. Walking to opening drinks night, I felt anxious. Like, what was I doing here, meeting all these strange crazy Internet-money people?
Looking in the mirror.
Sort of.
I was in 2 minds about doing a goodbye Hivefest post, but nestled here in my cozy goodbye Split bus, I figured I'd give it a shot. It's not a photo post. I'm not that brave to go up to people and ask for a selfie
Nor do I want any. So this isn't that.
It's more of a reflection. As someone struggling to find community and define a space where I feel at home, I'm glad I didn't give in to that opening night anxiety and crawl into my too familiar shell.
Coffee community caffeinating with @livinguktaiwan, @ninaeatshere and a bunch of other cool people, like @growandbow.
Winding down from the chaos that is Hivefest has been slow and strange for me and I realize part of it was the intensity of connecting with so many people. It takes a while for most of us to reach a level of connection and bravery to speak to others on another level. So we don't.
We wanna human but don't know how to human. So we mostly talk bullshit and surface bravado instead.
Humaning with the one and only @jarvie.
With Hiveians, though... well, some still talk the talk. Some know how to do the behind the screen but not the in the flesh and that's alright. But if you're lucky enough, you get to see behind some people's screens. You get a glimpse into who they really are.
For a while now I've had this obsession about the human looking out through your eyes at this great big unfriendly world. And how if you're quiet enough and can put aside your own bullshit and fear for long enough, you steal glimpses into them.
Spying on antique beer divination practices with @detlev, @ninaeatshere and @llunasoul.
I had loads of exciting conversations in Split. I feel Hive makes that a little bit easier for us, you know? It seems that we've agreed to put aside the lies and trivialities nd insecurities and be genuine. Both on-chain and off-chain. I've been doing it a fair bit online. I love my Hive people. But from afar and in small doses. In person and for a full-on week, I need to process that. It's been wonderful and exciting. But much.
I forgot how powerful it can be to be around other people who are also on the quest with you. Who are quirky and a little weird. Changing (don't look now). Who are trying to be...more. Who want you to get to know them and to be seen. Who want to know you without settling for the shallow faces you typically present to the world.
That's...intense. So I ain't got a lot of words right now. And I ain't got a lotta pictures. But I have a lot more ideas and space in my heart for the people I got to interact with over the past week.
And I'm really grateful for that.
Sooo... bye, Split.
I didn't ask the folks in the pictures if I could post them. I think you all look lovely but if you think you look fat or something, let me know, I'll find a stock photo.
Also, if I didn't tag you doesn't mean I didn't like you. Or who knows. See you at the next one to find out (if I'm not too broke next year and it's not too cold 😆).
I'm probably really happy I met you. Whoever you are. Or decide you might be.
I adore that picture of you and @jarvie - someone I always wanted to meet as he's so nice online, I expect him to be gorgeous in real life too! How nice to meet people in real life, especially what you said about how we've all been geeking and revealing our selves online, so why not be THAT in person as well? That kinda makes me feel more confident about going one day, though due to my distance, I doubht teh stars will ever align. PS Really missed you here!
I hear he's OK. haha
... thanks
Hahah! I should have neglected the @ so you didn't see it and get a big heaad :P
I mean... he's fine. :P
He's been known to be "acceptable" ... "passing grade"... "fine" (as @honeydue indicated) ... so we could probably state that he's at least average maybe above at times.
But I hear the websites he works on are exceptional and his friends are not too bad as well.
He's a sweetheart! He even let me crash for the last night at their place as I decided to stay an extra day :D
Never say never. Maybe Hivefest Australia? Here's to hoping 🤗 I missed you too. Slowly readjusting to the blockchain pace again. How are you?
I'm good, sorting out a hip issue, trying to get it sorted so I can deal with being in a Land Rover again next year!
👀 uuuu exciting!! Are we talking long road trip plans here? (good luck with the hip!)
Although we have whales and minnows, techie nerds 😉 and artists, OG and newbies on Hive, at the end of the day everyone is just a human being. When you meet them in flesh, everyone is ultra friendly, even when you were told you used to get a young girl at your last Hivefest attendance. That was so funny, and sweet 😄
That was hilarious! I had that happen twice actually. Didn't realize I was so small in Krakow. It was so great getting to hang out with you, my dear. See you around the chain until we meet again <3
I love to see how other people experienced HiveFest.
There was so much going on that individually one experiences only a shard of the entirety of the experience; a single colour in a rainbow.
But even that is with an intensity that requires lengthy post processing.
Your photos capture some rare and very real moments in the life of Hive.
But that was the beauty of it, no? We each experienced it in our own way to create togetherness. It's fun seeing through other people's eyes for a sec. :)
I'm happy that I stayed 1-2 days more than I was planning to stay, as in that way, I had time to talk with you! It was nice to meet you and I hope we will have more chances to hang out in the future too!
Hivians are just a bunch of weirdoes (including myself... hahaha)... But, some of them are really genuinely great people, inside and outside... Can't wait to see "my people" again... :)
Wish you all the best! Until the next meetup!!! ❤️
Hii there :D Yeah, I'm glad you stayed too (and that I stayed extra too). It was fun talking to you and getting to know you a bit. See you around ;)
Congrats on beating your anxiety and emotion of getting to meet so many people in a single place. I face the same emotions and I appreciate double those who manage to step out of the comfort zone <3
Thank you for appreciating that! It's not easy and it means a lot when someone else knows how uneasy it is :D Hope you're well, my dear. I've missed everyone on here, so am excited to catch up. Maybe someday we manage a Romanian meet-up. :)
Thank you! Hope you are well too <3
That would be quite a thing to have the next hive fest in Romania or at least a local one :)
Aww sweet, sweet @honeydue 🥰 reading these reflections has enchanted me, your words went straight to my heart, feeling very identified with everything. I am super glad to have met you, to have connected so easily even though we didn't have too much time to go deep, but I think several of us felt a special vibe that will stay with us over time.
I think we were all pretty worried about the opening drinks night, I thought getting in there together with a bunch of “strange crazy Internet-money people” was going to be too much, but it turned out to be most enjoyable and I don't regret anything either.
You're not one to ask people for pictures, but you're very willing and warm to take pictures with those of us who dared to ask you for some, so thank you for that. 🤗
You are so right when you point out how difficult it is to connect with people in life, I think just sharing that feeling made everything so natural and real at HiveFest, because I felt exactly what you say “we've agreed to be genuine. Both on-chain and off-chain.”
I loved your photos, real, spontaneous and very expressive, because that's how the moments we shared were. Without filters or too much thinking behind. Sincere moments, full of us. Also, reading your posts today, with the wonderful way you have of expressing yourself and knowing now the “tierno” tone of your voice, is just a lovely experience. You really are human. You are just absolutely wonderful!
Aw, sweetheart. <3
It was a lot, certainly. It was a week of "a lot", but in the end so beautiful.
Certainly, I think we all shared that. I mean some people walked like they were quite cocky, but at the end of the day, we're all a bit misfits in a way, so as long as we have that in common, we know we don't gotta pretend too much.
I can't wait to see you (and a few other lovely people off here) again! <3
... To be continued. Please! 🫶🏽
A pleasure having met your IRL avatar.
I miss already the small and big meetings with you within the meetings.
Your words are touching and I'm happy that you opened your shell and shared a bit of honey to our lives.
Not even a question. Somewhere, sometime ;) I miss you too. I'm so glad I met you both <3 Safe travels!
Hey lovely, I can’t help it but read you and connect with your words in a deeper level.
I didn’t have time to be afraid of that opening night since at minute 0 I bumped into you and we merged into full on deep genuine conversations 🤣
I love reading you, cause that’s what beautiful about this community, people act in certain ways in community, but face to face you can read beyon. In the end, we are all human. I enjoyed a lot the HIVE fest but I learnt even more.
Thanks for being part of it and stayed in my ♥️
Ha guilty! :D Lucky meeting for both of us. I'm glad I met you, my dearest.
i found this post opened in a tab on my laptop. i probably didn't answer it because i didn't have anything smart to say. i still don't have anything smart to say 😄
Shh. It's my secret masterplan to take over people's lives. I just pop open in a random tab and make you think you meant to read me all along :D
(Glad you commented. Glad to have met you. I've got nothing smart to say, either.)
i think i meant to replay but than hivefest stuff happened, whatever it was in that hectic days, i was probably late for something :) and i opened the laptop to check on some photos i was missing.
not having smart things to say makes me not contacting people that often, i need to work on saying more stupid things :)
Great you had good time ! See you next year
Hope so. :)
I would be like you on opening night, but it must have been nice meeting the real person behind the name, right?
It was strange as heck, but I'm glad I went. It was much needed interaction with people closer to my soul and my ideals than the general population. How are you my dear? <3
I love the diversity of the Hive crowd. They are so friendly and the conversations can be intense. I had a great time and it looks like you did too.
Very intense, yeah. Maybe 'cause we know it's a very brief time we're together, so let's cut the surface stuff, you know? Lovely meeting you!
I'm glad you got to go and enjoyed it! The weeks following the fests are a pretty intense form of decompression, at least they were for me. I always wondered if that's how rewarding life was when humans lived in tribes? The modern, everyday world definitely isn't anything resembling that. I sure did enjoy seeing all of the blog posts of those who got to partake this year.
That's a very interesting idea! I hadn't thought of that. Hm. It does have certain tribal aspects of intense belonging. I imagine it wouldn't, alas, be sustainable (at least in the modern world), but it sure is nice to meet with likeminded people from time to time. Maybe at one of these we meet finally :D
All I know is the first few weeks after the 'fests I had a difficult time getting back into the groove of "regular" life. That would be wonderful to meet after all these years of communicating on the blockchain. I hope to do this event in The Netherlands next summer. I keep thinking about how cool it would be if HiveFest were in Europe next year and I would just extend my stay through the fest. I think we can be over there 90 days at a time as Americans.
Missed it but looks so nice
I am on my way to Afrika for a few months and needed my time to prepare for my trip
Maybe next one we meet :)
Uuu enjoy Afrika, lady, and hope to see you at the next one.
See you next year. :)
I sure hope so! So great meeting you both.
Looks like fun, glad to see HIVE community is still strong.
I would say it is :D It's certainly touching to see that we're almost 10 years along and people are still coming and making such great efforts to get to these meet-ups. See you at the next one maybe :)
I would love to but I am always traveling for work during these meet ups. If my work schedule and these ever align I will be there.
Being genuine is something that sometimes drives people away from you, I say this because it happens to me, however I will NOT change, it is better to have a few sincere people around me than many who are not, I do not understand why people like to be lied to, I will NOT do it, if they accept me fine, if not, there is no problem.
It's not easy being you (or green, but that's another story :D). But it gets easier. :)
It was nice to meet you again. It is interesting to learn about your inner world. Are you an introvert?
Very much so, yes! :D It was lovely seeing both you and @bugavi again, as well as meeting your wonderful little one <3 Until next time!
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Unforgivable! Almost :P Thank goodness I went and rectified it in time.
Thank you for your unfailing support @honeydue, much appreciated! ❤️
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Split is lucky to have you there.
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This post is so...you and I love it. Very well said and put into words. You were one of the people I was looking forward to seeing again, and even though we didn't see much of each other, we still got to chat a little, so now I know a little bit more about what's going on in your life, which is nice. Thank you for the place to sleep, and for the kind words and hug at the end when I was having a little rough time. You will always be one of those who are special to me. Hope to see you soon!