For someone who loves writing the year 2022 would have remained an insignificant year for me. I was down with some serious health issues by the end of 2021 and was barely able to do much in the way of writing. The year would have ended in much the same way if not for some other problems which caused me further worry. I turned back to writing again almost at the close of the year.
You wonder what then could I have achieved then? Nothing great I imagine if you look at it in the perspective of achievements. Yet, for me it was the greatest test of will power and I came out victorious in the end. I will start my story from the beginning to give you a clearer picture the what's and why's of my 2022 journey in Hive.
When I started my journey in Hive I would easily write one to two posts everyday. Later I stuck to one post a day on the advice of friends. Within three month of being active on Hive I took up a new role in the @featheredfriends community when I was asked to restart a challenge. I named the challenge 'Every picture tells your story' and conducted it on a weekly basis. I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the participants who posted their stories based on the pictures posted for the challenge.
It was at this point that I had to go into ER as I was having a heart attack. I had my second and third attacks within the fortnight although I was on medication. As I was recovering from the angioplasty I happened to have a disc prolapse which made it impossible for me to be able to sit up and do any kind of work including writing.
At this point surgery seemed to be the only option and I was hesitant to go through one more surgery. To cut this story short I was totally incapacitated for nine months. I tried to do various things while lying in bed and writing was one of those. However any attempt to use a speech to text app was useless because of my accent. I had to spend more hours editing and correcting my post than I would have spent writing it in the first place.
It was then I noticed that my memory was not as good as it was before. Even everyday words seemed to fail me and it was absolutely frustrating. It was then my son who is a neurosurgeon suggested to me that I engage in sudoku, crossword puzzles and even get back to writing everyday to ensure that my brain cells didn't degenerate further.
This happened at the end of October 2022 exactly a year after my surgery. I decided to take up the November writing challenge. something I used to do on a fiction writing site a few years ago. I decided to write one post a day on Hive, everyday of the month in as many communities as possible. This was a challenge I took upon myself with clear understanding that I may not be able to physically complete it.
Everything went well until the last week of November. I wrote a post a day even if it meant I had to type five sentences at a time to complete my post. On the 22 I think I had to visit the hospital for a check up and instead of the usual one hour visit it turned out to be a whole day's trip. One test led to another and I was stuck for almost six hours and the city traffic stretched this trip out to an 8.5 hour agony. Three of the 12 weekly author badges were gained in November 2022.
My back hurt like crazy and when I reached home all I wanted to do them was crawl into bed and sleep. I failed my challenge and yet I knew I had won it. I had proved to myself that I could do what I wanted if I only put my mind to it. I went on to complete the 30 day challenge even though it took me 31 days. This helped me regain my self-confidence and help me focus on other important things in life as well.
Hive not only brought back the joy of living into my colorless life but also helped me win a few challenges during this time. My passion for gardening which seemed like a dead hobby then was brought back to life. I started to write for the @hivegarden community and won a couple of challenges. Recently I won a @ladiesofHive community challenge as well. my exploration of various communities made me realize how diversified and huge Hive was, I also understood a bit about communities and how each function. I now know which communities really work for me.
My other hobby photography, especially bird photography has suffered from the time my health troubles began. I haven't been able to travel and take pictures of birds like I used to earlier. I am also not able to carry my camera and lenses needed for this hobby because of the pressure on my back. I have resorted to taking pictures of my garden with my phone and this has helped me to post my own images on Hive.
Most of all I would like to think of Hive as my therapy to retain my sanity while fighting against those health hurdles which threatened to keep me absolutely bored and useless. Writing is my way of expressing myself, it is my freedom to be who I am destined to be and my passion and Hive has helped me through this most difficult time of my life 2022 by being my muse and my inspiration. In short it has given me back the joy of living. The joy of writing is mine now forever!
This is my personal highlight on Hive for the year 2022. I just cannot thank Hive enough for how it has helped me. I have also found people who have steadily supported my efforts through this time. Thanks @zuerich for being that steady support and help. I honestly appreciate all that you do.
Images used here belong to me and one is a screenshot from Hivebuzz