Hello Newbies!
But as an optimistic person, I like to see the merits of these flaws also. Like being optimistic, it's a real drawback sometimes but it keeps me moving forward! 🤪
Playing RPG games like D&D, Vampire, mage, and others, helped me a lot with my social anxiety since I started to play live-action and play roles that required a lot of social skills. This was the start of my nerd life as I made friends all over the country and started to play MMORPG with them also.
Here is a picture of me dressing for a Vampire party a few years ago… I was a crazy smart Malkavian 🧛♀️
Since I joined the Twitch with Splinterlands streamers I started to really enjoy this game, as I found an awesome community with the #NoSleepGang! It remembers me of my RPG friends. The giveaways are just a bonus, getting to know real players all around the world, having fun while getting expert knowledge about the game, that is the real prize we get from those streams on Twitch.
Back to my life outside the game, one of the most precious lessons Life gave to me is: always have a plan B, C, D, E… And I quickly realized this is essential for playing Splinterlands also!
My first career plan was to be a Life Sciences researcher, So I went to Biology graduation and also post-graduation in Molecular and Cellular Biology.👩🔬
But career opportunities in Science are very scarce here in Brazil. At the time my family needed me here so leaving my city was out of the question and the stress of academic life plus the lack of local professional perspectives started to consume me.
My plan A wasn’t fulfilling my life anymore, I started to feel sick with depression and a lot of anxiety so I went for professional help and the company of my friends and family.
So I always loved animals… I could show you guys pictures of my pets for an entire year. Maybe I’ll put a picture at the end of each post to get more upvotes hahaha
And I was always involved in some sort of animal protection project. My ultimate dream always was to live on a farm where I could take care of animals without causing harm to them. In my country, sadly, most people have a culture to mistreat animals and explore them. At this moment, frustrated with my plan A of academic life, I started to let my dream grow and let it consolidate in my mind. Someday I’ll start – or be part of – an animal sanctuary that teaches farmers how to be kind and respect animal welfare as part of the production system. Vegans, forgive me, but my urge to help animals makes me want to just lessen their suffering while humanity won’t stop consuming animal products.
The opportunity presented itself when my mom decided that this plan was solid and let me have my share of the family business she had sold. So I started my plan B. I got the knowledge I needed and rented a small land near my city, bought only 10 cows, and joined a milk farmers cooperative.
The picture on my profile is the first baby that was born on my farm. She was always stealing my hat from me:
When I started, most of the farmers thought I would fail and quit in the first months. How could a little city girl (I was 26 years old) be a farmer like them? This wasn’t a woman’s job.
So… Against all the odds, the little girl and the farm were doing great! I started to change the habits of my colleague farmers without them realizing it, By showing them how my cows behaved and produced more milk in a calm and comfortable environment, giving them affection instead of shouts and beating.
Here is a picture of a milk quality tournament my cow Barola won:
But life is made of highs and lows, right? After a time the depression started to prey on me again.
Yes, prey. For me the depressive thoughts were like a predator surrounding me, waiting for a weak moment. And this moment came when my country's politics went crazy with our president Dilma Roussef impeachment. A few months before this political movement, the market prices for farm supplies went up each day, the inflation was absurd. And then the government broke a contract for milk supply with the farmers of our region. The government was our main client and this made a lot of farmers go bankrupt. Me included.
So I had to sell my cows before I couldn’t provide for them anymore and had to postpone this dream…
It took me some time to get up on my feet again. But with the love of family and friends, there is no low that can take us down. So after a time, I was able to make a plan C. I learned a lot about new therapies and how to treat animals at the farm. So I went back to my school books, took the college test again, and started the second graduation, now in Veterinary Sciences.
But I’m a grown woman now and need to provide for myself, at least. So here comes plan D, or a remake of plan A. 😅👵 I moved to Brasília, the capital of my country, to study veterinary and then I applied for a doctor’s degree in Molecular Pathology at the same university. Here in Brazil, you can get a scholarship to help you pay your bills while on post-graduation. But not everyone gets this aid, there is a selection and only the first position gets it. There weren’t a lot of other job options that allowed me to study at the same time. So I studied a LOT and got the scholarship! This way I’m able to continue with my second graduation and work as a post-graduate to pay my bills.
Things were doing great now with plans C and D, but as always life is waiting to make a surprise!
I had an opportunity to study in Havard for a year, this is every biology scientist’s dream! So I got everything ready and then... coronavirus arrived. All the frontiers were closed and this dream was also postponed for a few years. No matter what, even if I never get there, it is great to just know I’m a good enough researcher for this opportunity, which helps a lot with self-confidence. 🥰
After almost two years of the pandemic, I’m facing a new challenge. My scholarship is supposed to end in September/2022, but University was closed this last year and I was unable to do my research. So my salary will end, but work will continue. I need to find an alternate source of income that allows me to continue working on my research and still graduate in veterinary! I’m almost finishing it and would be very sad to need to quit at this moment.👩⚕️😓
To lift the spirit a little, here is me chilling in the lab waiting. We spend most of the time waiting for something on protocol, like while you incubate a cell with some compound:
And here enter Splinterlands on my life! I found this amazing opportunity on the crypto world and life started to sound possible again 😆😆😆
I was bored playing LOL when I saw a video about Axie and how you could make money as a gamer! So I made my research and concluded that Splinterlands was the best choice for me. In contrast with other NFT games, I was actually enjoying myself playing Splinterlands... Also, the risk was lower, since I had to invest just $10 to start playing.
I was a little lost at first, but then I watched Clove’s stream and started following all the streamers I could find. This gave me a lot of knowledge and I finally started to grow my account.
You can just skip to this part, I talk too much
I’m playing for almost two months now, started investing $10 in one account and now I have 3 accounts and around $320 invested in this game. To be fair, I bought $40 of SPS with the money I made on another P2E game, and I won around $40 in prizes on Splinterlands Twitch Streams.
There are people making more, for sure, but I’m very happy with my account’s progress and my hope for Splinterlands is that it will help me pay my bills next year so I don’t have to quit the veterinary graduation. I know this is a risky business so I’m trying not to put all my hopes on this boat, but I’m really excited that finally, it is possible to make money with the time I spent playing games. It may not be enough to pay the bills next year, but I’m confident it will help a lot. I just can’t see Splinterlands failing like I’m afraid other NFT projects will. Even in the worst scenarios, I still see hope for profits with Splinterlands. So that’s why Splinterlands became a new hope in a way for me to keep pursuing my dreams. 🤩🤩🤩
That’s it guys, I’m really happy to get to know this community! Playing this game and chatting with the #NoSleepGang on Twitch takes my mind out of future problems and helps me deal with anxiety. At first, this was a plan E to provide money so I can continue with plans C (veterinary) and D (research), but now it is also something to give me joy and relieve day-to-day stress. So thank you all, guys and girls from #NoSleepGang! Even though I don’t really know any of you, this community has my affection already. ❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜
And here is a picture of my dog playing with me to get more upvotes! If you made it until here reading all my drama life, you are probably more resilient than me. 😄😄😂😂 So thank you for all this attention and affection in some way.
This is Chewbacca, he passed last year, but really enjoyed his life while it lasted.
- If you also struggle with anxiety, depression, or others, do not hesitate to ask for help. I know it is not always easy or possible to get professional help, but always try to. If you want to chat I'm here, and if not, know I'm sending a positive thought on your way anyway. It is not easy, but it is possible to enjoy life. The people in your life is also your greatest strength ❤️
And the usual shoutout to the people that make it possible for us to get to know each other and enjoy this community, our amazing streamers:
@clove71 @splinterlandshq @marcuswahl @siutcase @godislove777 @bulldog1205 @gameboyali @niclamus @sgt-dan @drabs587! @rentaw03 CmmndrBawang @SilentXNecrosis @BokiCa80 Splinternews @OhMyGood @Skyn @Sunny @Puditang2300 @cryptollamatv @adikar @theconfusedminer
*creative design used in some images of this post by Nate from Splinterlands (made public).
I grew up with Jersey cows. One of those jobs/lifestyles where once you learn that most people don't work 7 days a week, twice a day, you find more lucrative ways to make money with less time.
I enjoyed the read. Thanks for taking the time to write.
I'm smiling here, love to remember these cows. They were very smart, too smart hahaha, kind and easier to deal with than others we have here.
For sure, I'm not ever thinking about being a farmer anymore, it is too risky! Safer to invest in crypto hahaha
But I'm always thinking about adopting some cows when I have the money to feed them! ❤️
Thank you for this comment, really =)
Wow !! Such a nice story that you have and to know that you went through so much in your life to be able to finally find something you love to do in life, You are an inspiration!! Keep your head up like you're doing and feel free to talk to me also whenever you want I'll be glad to help you in any way I can !!
Cheers Carol !!
Thank you, @skyn ! You have already helped me a lot! Really =)
And thanks again for the donations =)
See you on the streams ❤️
I !LUV reading your story. You have certainly had some ups and downs. I am very impressed with your resilience. Best of luck in Splinterlands and if I ever face you in the arena, please be kind ;)
Hahahaha Thank you, @gregory-f ! Hope to see you in the arena soon! =)
But I'm a newbie, so I'll probably be the one getting beaten xD
Thanks Opuntia for this amazing post. I found it really intersting to read. In Austria where I live cows mostly live a happy life spending their summers on huge fields in the alps. I hope all your plans will go as you want them to go!
!LUV and !PIZZA goes out to you
It is so good that you talk about issues with mental health and I hope you are an inspiration for thos struggeling with similar issues.
Keep up posting your story and you always will have my upvote, not only when you post a picture with you and one of your pets.
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@opuntia, you've been given LUV from @solymi.
Check the LUV in your H-E wallet. (1/1)
Wow, what a journey! I loved reading your story and getting to know a bit more about you. As we say around here, Brazilians never give up. And you are true to this motto. Keep going and I’m cheering for your plan E to succeed.
I’ll be seeing you around the #NoSleepGang streams. 😉
One nice life here opuntia..
thanks for being good and asset to the splinterland community and opening yourself to the fam..
always take care and take care of those cows so we can cheers more milk..
alvi
#nosleepgang
I loved this post, I am also an animal lover, it was great to see that side of your story.
I also struggled a lot with depression myself it comes and goes but has been completely snuffed out now with this amazing community. I'm always so excited to wake up and come hang out with you all 😍.
You are such an awesome member of this community and glad to see how far you have come and grown. Very sorry for your loss of the adorable Chewbacca as well dogs are the absolute best and can always bring you happiness and joy, When I lost Ruca I went through a tough time for quite a bit. Alas, I'm fully a part of this incredible community and it has uplifted my spirits to new levels so happy and blessed to have this opportunity.
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The extremely inspiring article you have put together has made my day! I am glad that @drabs587 directed me here on his Twitch Stream! This is my second time visiting this post and instead of skimming, actually took the time to read it through. I am glad I did!
Lots of people do not understand depression and some will say, Just get over it! What they do not understand is that those who have clinical depression want to do exactly that! It is difficult, but with understanding and support from others? Makes the depression tolerable, at least for me (that and a little weed now and again).
Keep on grinding Carol. You are a No Sleep Gang Princess! You deserve some !PIZZA my lady!
👸 Opuntia on Twitch.tv
Opuntia I loved this post! I feel like I got to know you personally while reading this. Thank you for being open about your struggles with depression and anxiety! I also suffer from both, due to post traumatic stress disorder. It is not easy to deal with, and it is even more difficult to talk about sometimes! You are a brave, strong woman. I am so happy that you are a part of this community. Your animals are adorable! I love that you advocate for fair treatment for animals. (I'm a vegan actually, but no judgement from me! haha!) I am definitely an animal lover as well. The picture of the cow just melted my heart, I wanted to give that sweet cow a great big hug! <3
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That was an amazing read. As a fellow scientist from the Philippines, I completely relate to everything you've worked hard for on pursuing research and higher degrees <3 The pandemic took a toll on all my research plans as well, but because of it, I've found this community!
Much love to you! Thanks so much for starting all of this and I hope to catch you streaming soon too! :)
I love this girl! Really!!!! She is amazing, smart, a genius believe me! I almost cryed here! SHE IS THE BEST! I loved the pictures of this post, mainly the cow with a hat.
I love your featured picture! Very clever. I am here with the NOSLEEPGANG curating posts. I thought I voted this one before, evidently not! Keep on grinding girlfriend! Have some !PIZZA while you grind! 🍕