There Is No Growth In Comfort

Hello fellow Steemians! My name is Diana Morgan and I am an inquisitive 24 year-old activist/businesswoman who has no idea what Steemit is. How did I find out about Steemit? I was introduced to this website by two intelligent young fellows that run Sndbox, was intrigued, and had to satiate my impending curiosity about a new age of social media.

From their basic description and rundown, that you can find here, I was fascinated by the idea that others value your worth. Quite literally. Monetization, even through cryptocurrency, of something that you immediately created is probably the most millennial thing I’ve heard in a long time. Upvoting? More weight carried with each word and interaction you engage with? Instant gratification??? Pretty soon I could pay for my avocado toasts, self-care subscription boxes, AND not make a down-payment on a house when and if I can get the conversion rates of cryptocurrency down!

Jokes aside, I more so want to closely follow the psychological ramifications of this new type of “social” media site and its effect on society. Anyone watched Nerve lately? I’m curious to see that as this community grows, how will the Steemit Stars, already famous people, and the average user all compare? Will people psychologically breakdown from the lack of upvoting on their posts? Will commonplace celebrities even thrive on Steemit? Will the chokehold that all big brands and conglomerates have that dominate industries be challenged through Steemit? At what point will creatives not have the upperhand on Steemit? Will the consumers of content start to hold all the cards? I don’t have the answers to these questions, but I have a very strong desire to explore this, as I do believe that Steemit could grow into the next revolutionary website. Let’s be ahead of the curve people!

But most of all, I hope to find a community to belong to. A big part of my identity are the cataclysm of my contrasting experiences and backgrounds, and I have never quite fit into a community that fully accepted me. What I identify as, and as I’m sure you’ve seen my username yourself, is my ethnic background. Yes, I am indeed half Chinese, and half Russian Jew, and as I continually put my face on the internet (i.e. Tinder, Instagram, my job) my physical appearance has attracted negative social constructs to be projected onto me of what I should and shouldn’t be. The mixed race experience has not only frustrated me but also accelerated me in ways I never imagined- with the constant guessing game of what people think I am, or passing for any ethnicity, and when they finally figure out what I am, they have a huge hoorah of defining me on their own terms, to revert back to their linear thinking. Thus, these experiences have given me a very interesting perspective on the intersection of race/ethnicity in the U.S.,... but more on that on future Steemit posts.

Having said this, cultural anthropology is my top interest in not only my personal life, but to advance me in the business world. I always say that I study people, not money- and it’s worked out for me in my career more often than not. I believe that studying the way people live and think is beneficial and necessary to bridging gaps of disparity, since nowadays we have so much technology to communicate, but are even more so lost in translation. I currently am the Community Manager at a brand new coworking space in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY called 100 Bogart- where I deal with people all day, (also how I met Sndbox), and learn what people are working on. Being surrounded by a community that are not competing against each other, and ironically spearheading a community when I have never fully been in one, has given me many ideas of how to accelerate my career as well as build the relationships and network to take me to my next chapter. As you can imagine, I love speaking to people, and travel is paramount to my existence. I am always plotting my next escape to be surrounded by something I’ve never experienced before, and was most recently in Morocco and Portugal, and have plans to go to South America this year. I hope that by having the privilege to travel extensively, I want to contribute cultural knowledge and my personal experiences, and share tips of what I find to be most valuable in this life- human connection.

And lastly, the title of this post, which I couldn’t think of anything else to caption, is my personal mantra. Every single day I say to myself, “There is no growth in comfort.” I started to say this just before graduating college and it has yet to fail me. Putting myself in situations where I do not have the upperhand excites me, and part of the thrill is knowing that I am extremely vulnerable and growing in a way that I haven’t before, and that’s honestly pretty satisfying. Maybe the community on Steemit will find my adventures odd or entertaining or brave, but I am happy to share what I’ve reflected on and lived through. I am unsure where my future will go with Steemit, but perhaps it could be the place that entertains my wild, out-there thoughts, feminist theories, dating nightmares, biraciality and multiracial politics, and anthropological tactics of trying to make sense of this world.

I am excited to share my life, projects, and experiences as well as interact with you all on this website. I see this and first most as a place to get inspired, question, and learn from other intelligent Steemians, and intend to find a way to use this shared knowledge for my endeavors and personal self-actualization. Ecstatic and thrilled to be on Steemit so cheers to my first post!!