My first 5 months on Hubpages. The journey so far.

Wow, 5 months already?!?

Where has the time gone? I really feel like I blinked and I'm here now.

How did I find Hubpages in the first place? Well to be honest with you, it was almost a fluke.....I wasn't looking for it but I was looking online at some job postings for a friend of mine and the funny thing is, there was a posting for a part-time writer at Hubpages.

"What the heck is a Hubpage?", I distinctly remember asking myself out loud. So I kind of took a hiatus from looking for jobs for my friend and decided to give this a look. I was somewhat impressed by the stories I read of the supplemental income that could be made from just writing quality work online and I'd always had a knack for writing stories in particular so I decided to give it a whirl.

Another reason I decided to do this is because I've had people my entire life tell me that I have a gift of teaching and leadership. While I say this with the utmost humility, I think it's perfectly fine to be confident in your own abilities.

I wanted to help people with their problems in general and provide solutions with any experience I may have in given areas. I've been around the world many times and seen many amazingly wonderful things in my travels. I'd like to think I could offer helpful advice at times.

And as they say, the rest is history.

That's the only phrase that comes to mind when I think of how to sum up my time here. How amazing the people are that I've met while I've been here.

Thus far to date, I've written only 14 hubs, with many other ideas and half-written hubs still sitting there. If you want to know the truth, the very first hub that I started on.....I still haven't finished!

Now to some of you, 14 hubs isn't very many in 5 months time.....frankly it's quite the meager amount. But I'm someone who likes to take time with what I want to say and I want to make it count. I want every word and phrase to have meaning and not just be there to take up space. I want every picture, everything that I throw into the details to be helpful, funny, or deeply reflective so that you, the reader, will enjoy yourself for the entire ride through.

I'm also a man with a schedule just like the rest of you. I have to manage my time accordingly and I tend to be involved in many things at once. I really do write this as I can, when I can. I'm sometimes gone for days at a time either traveling or just busy with life in general. When I do check on Hubpages, I want it to count and I want to spend time with it because I consider the people's work that I look at worth my "quality" time. I don't just want to skim over an article and then just say I read it......I sincerely care about someone's work.

You people matter to me, what you write matters. You write it for whatever reason you decided to, but it's written so it matters. Have I ever skimmed? Sure, I'm guilty of it, I'm human. But I sincerely try not to. I try to make sure that I get that quality read-through so I can give an honest appraisal at the end. So just know, if I comment on your article, there's a 99.9 percent chance you got a full read-through.

Have I made a ton of money? Nope. Have I made some? Yep.

As much as it would be nice to make a good living doing something I enjoy, it's not the main reason I started writing anyway. So it doesn't bother me much that I haven't done as well as some. I haven't put the time in anyway to really bolster the big bucks if there's any to be had on here.

My passion is honestly seeing people's lives changed for the better. If I can contribute to this in any way, I'm thankful. I pray the Lord will use me in some mighty ways to bless the lives around me.

I have much to learn still and I love the fact that the experiences of others can educate me at the same time! So for those of you I've learned from while I've been here I want to thank you for all that you've taught me, whether that's been through a hub or an email. God bless you.

There are wayyyyyy too many people on here to give a shout-out to but I want to try to highlight a few that have really made me feel welcome in many ways.

Tammyswallow. Most of you know her and I am thankful that she was my first follower, she really does go out of her way for people and was my very first comment! Thanks alot.

BillyBuc. This guy has the amazing ability to be one of the most openly opinionated people I've met so far on here that I actually agree with 98 percent of the time! He's a passionate man at heart who gives a lot to so many. He deserves your follow and recognition as he writes quality stuff man!

CloudExplorer. Just a real class act. You are a poet at heart and the way you followed me was amazingly poetic. It made me feel welcomed, honored, and flattered all at the same time!

Alastar Packer. Hilarious man. I love the hubs on history brother. It's definitely one of my favorite things to learn about.

Rajan Jolly. Our resident health guru. You've taught me alot about the benefits of food in general, some that I may eat. I'm thankful to have someone who is well-researched on the subject.

Alocsin. I call you another faithful commenter. I appreciate your insight and your votes as always!

If I didn't mention you or you feel neglected in any way, not my intention at all to leave you out, I just have to end this hub sometime. I appreciate all of the folks that comment on my hubs. It means alot.

As for me, I'm excited to see where this takes me, it's been a great ride thus far!

Thanks alot for reading, God bless.