A Little Bit About My Life And Why I Joined Steemit: Jonah Blake

Before I talk about who I am and introduce myself to all of you, I want to first explain why I joined Steemit. Steemit is one of those very rare communities that does not look to monetize the creativity of individuals that are seeking their voice. I think that is not only critical for the development of the blockchain culture but presents an example for many social media sharing sites that exist today. I of course have my writing and video content on other sites, but Steemit feels a lot more personal in the sense that your ability to be silenced only extends to your endeavors, not the objectives of an MNC.

As I begin my journey on this platform, I hope my content is not only engaging but becomes a 2-way communication mechanism that allow for ideas to flourish in an open setting. I believe this is the central premise of Steemit, and I hope I can stick by those ideals as my content develops. With that being said, here's a little about me...

My story begins in 1995, when I was born in Southern California. My family later decided to move to Florida. I spent my days in school about a mile from the beach, which is ironic, since I was mostly playing video games and watching movies, rather than trying to improve my tan.

Between amazing art, the social setting of video games and immersive stories of movies, I was transfixed from the beginning of high school to create things. It was those mediums that later lead to a career. I spent a majority of the next few years making videos, writing screenplays (that needed more work) and beginning my fascination toward the melding of technology with art. Luckily, this fixation I had actually opened up a big door for me.

In 2013 (my summer after high school graduation) I was accepted by Sarah Lawrence College, a private school in New York because of my art portfolio and a few good grades. While I was there, I learned that I actually enjoy sports and things that aren't on a computer screen. I was active and played college tennis, found some appreciation for the gym, took some internships (where I learned I was good at working for free for Warner Music) and spent my time exploring what NYC had to offer.

After two years at Sarah Lawrence College, I felt like I wasn't finding the specific career passion I needed, but I did find a cause to help the people I was surrounded by as most of us were drowning in debt, which was a big problem at SLC if you look at their tuition.

In the summer of 2015, I took a leap of faith and returned to Florida to start my own business and attend more classes at FAU. I wanted to use my creativity to form a business that helped solve student debt. I felt the education finance systems that were in place did not care about me or my generation. I did extensive research for my startup and I created a system that works for the payment of student debt. This is when I stumbled onto blockchain technology. If the current system can't help me, why not help create a better system.

At the time, I personally cared less about cryptocurrency (even though it’s awesome tech and now I'm in love with it) and was more interested in what types of Apps you could run on it. This then lead me to create NewCurr and DebtMet. Great companies with a purpose to help others.

Things I Love: coffee

Things I hate: Not having coffee

I'm currently 22

Hobbies: video games, tennis, writing, reading, movies.

Interest: decentralized apps, technology, virtual reality, economics, business, art, good food