Hivefest 2023 Rosarito, Mexico, part I

With this whiney bit out of the way, let’s talk about Hivefest! I do not ever want to miss the opportunity to go to Hivefest. Hivefest has many meanings to me, but if I have to define what Hivefest is, it is a celebration of our (Hive community’s) achievements and a gathering of the most intelligent, passionate, forward-thinking, future-building, dedicated, and creative Hivians from all around the world. I am so lucky to call a bunch of you my friends. And how could I not visit or meet my friends? How can I not celebrate Hive, when it has and keeps bringing so much good in my life and the lives of others?

So far, I have been to 4 physical Hivefests and two virtual ones. I have not reached the Fivefest level yet, but perhaps next year I will! I cannot wait!

But before I jump into my Hivefest experience from this year, a tiny look at the past events.

My first Hivefest was in Lisbon, only a few months after being onboarded by @pharesim. Back then, a very clueless, shy, and anxious M walked in. I remember a question being asked to me by an unknown user (back then): So, what do you do for Hive? Followed by my awkward answer: Pretty much nothing. My social skills were nonexistent. I had failed to mention that I was a curator and a creator myself. I then disappeared from the conversation in a very alien manner and hid in a quiet room to feel the shame and cringe at myself xD. Who was the Hivian who had asked the question? Well. None other than @blocktrades himself. Yeah. Haha!

The second Hivefest for me was in Bangkok. I was a little less clueless person, still socially awkward, but at least I figured out to say something that entailed me doing pretty much nothing for and on Hive. I was hugging my friends I had met on Hive and felt like I belonged much more. And a few other amazing things happened as well.

Bangkok was followed by two years of the world going mad and us getting trapped in virtual reality. It was hard for many, but I am happy to inform you that my anti-social side was pleased to be strolling around the house in pajamas with the goggles on my eyeballs while the avatar of me was saying hello to Hivians in VR, ha! Those were strange times!

Then Amsterdam last year! It had been too long without hugs from friends. It was so lovely to see them again in person. And I guess I learned that it is not so bad to leave the house again and talk with like-minded creatures of intelligence. Isolation had gotten to a point too far, even for me, the home-dwelling hermit.

And so, we arrive in 2023 in Rosarito, Mexico!

-Leeem! It is in Mexico! We are going, right?!

-Yup.

Buy flights, book the hotel, and ask questions later. Mhm. Wait, why are people saying that Somalia was all booked up? And why are the travel advisories issuing warnings left and right? Why are so many saying they will not make it this year? Wait, this one was supposed to be - flooded with Americans? No, wizard?! No, Roeland?! I guess we are the crazy ones!

Yeah. There were some concerns prior. It was our first time in Mexico and Rosarito, so we did not know what to expect. I am happy to know Rosarito is a lovely and welcoming place now. The concerns were for nothing. I would say, at least, in the Rosarito area.

We arrived the day before the start of the festivities, and after over 30 hours of traveling on three different planes and sitting around in airports, the need for sleep was urgent. I am now determined to never travel longer than 11, maybe 12 hours at once, without stopping. It is brutal. I felt like I got hit by a bus. I felt like a chewed-up, spit-up raisin and needed a few days to recover from all that. I am getting old, I guess. But hey! I made it, and I was there! I dragged my rusty corpse across the world, and I would not change it for anything! Hive is worth the pain!

Welcoming drinks always bring this strange combination to the surface - curious excitement mixed in with anxiety. I almost always panic before stepping into a room full of Hivians. But I would not describe it as a bad panic. It is more like woah, all these folks are awesome! How do I not make a complete ass out of myself in front of them? Meep, meep, I am an introvert! Who has no clue how to human? That passes rather quickly once the conversations start flowing and drinks show up in people’s hands! To my surprise, I can sometimes be my bubbly self even if the words escape me or I say something rather dumb here and there.

We knew this Hivefest probably would be smaller than the previous years and different in some aspects. But right there, on the rooftop, we realized it was going to be a great one! You see, at the big events it is easy to get lost, and you cannot find time to talk with all the Hivians. Smaller groups form and split off from the rest. Here, you organically got nudged out of your comfort zone. It was great! It almost seemed like our collective Hive mind had decided to put in effort in talking with each other a lot more.

It was in my favor since I struggled with getting over the idea of some people being unapproachable to me. It happens a lot with those I look up to the most. I do not want to waste their precious time. It is silly, I know. However, I did a lot better with it this time around, and I am so happy about it! Looking back at all the wonderful conversations we had that evening makes me smile ear to ear! I will cherish them forever, and they go in my quality time jar! Honestly, this whole Hivefest fits in it!