A huge congratulations, HB!!!
You're right in saying that it might not seem like a "huge number." But it's one of the first "major" achievements for all Steemians. Once you get to that 4-figure level, your motivation and the momentum become unstoppable.
You may have noticed that the rate of increase in the number of followers increases exponentially. In many ways, that's inevitable on a networked community such as Steemit.
As long as you continue to produce fine content, your presence on Steemit will continue to grow ... faster and faster.
Again, congratulations on achieving the F-1,000 level.
Keep at it, and soon you'll pass the F-2,000 level, and be looking onwards and upwards to higher and higher levels.