I believe that with the major updates coming out including MIRA, the tokens getting created on steem engine and so much more happening on Steemit now, we should start to see more growth soon.
That STEEM and SBD price rise was great at the time, as I could withdraw some to help pay for things in real life, but the communities are a massive part of Steemit and the value it brings, knowing your blogs get attention from people and you enjoy contributing to the platform as well.
I won't lie, earning money is a nice bonus for helping sustaining life in the future, possibly become a full time blogger. But I have met some great people in my city as well as made friends online.