Pointing Past 200,000 - A Few Reflections

With this post, I will be going over 200,000 ActiveRain points. I can’t believe it. When I first joined AR less than a year ago, I thought it would take YEARS to earn even 100,000 points let alone 200,000 points.

What do those points mean anyway? After almost one year of consistent posting these points represent one of the most fulfilling years I’ve ever enjoyed from a creative viewpoint, allowing me an outlet to pursue photography and writing in a manageable way. The points reflect encouragement and support from my own peers and surprisingly from the public also. They are a measure of involvement. They indicate how much I have learned to do in a relatively short period of time. They aren’t just numbers they are reminders…reminders of all of the people I’ve encountered and gotten to know in a very real sort of way, while letting them get to know me in probably the most open way I‘ve ever let people into my life.

For anyone reading this who is at the beginning of their association with ActiveRain and still trying to figure out the points and what they mean…the sooner you understand that the points mean something different to everyone and you will only get out of this experience what you put in, the better the ActiveRain experience will be for you. Be intentional about your posts and even more intentional about your comments. At least be intentional if you want the points to mean something about you and to you.

So, thank you to everyone for your encouragement over the past year and for helping me get to this point. Right now, I’m going over 200,000 points and wondering where I’ll be a year from now.

Happy Valentines Day to you all. Have a great day and I hope you enjoy these photos from my series "Monica’s Gift". Hot off the snowy press, so to speak! Today the chime is weathering the bit of snow falling here in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina.