<center>![connect.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY5bxcZ8f28bMKh3Kpf69jc3BFQNZxFpoHQpgRUuqqfud/connect.jpg)</center>

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<center>**Strength comes from connection**</center>

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### What a show!
<center>![all.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmc1mUGXVSr25Z2Mu7VNQsThwfC6U7F43E9XE5ewdNxpcF/all.jpg)</center>

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We had our first Drop in the Ocean show on Friday and although it wasn’t a typical, professional voice show, it was something very special and I enjoyed every minute of the time spent with the members of BuddyUP who were involved. Everybody who attended shared their thoughts about the topic of the week and we all had a lot of fun. 

The first topic for Drop in the Ocean was **CONNECTION**. Everybody involved worked on their posts through the week and on Friday the content was all published by the authors and the wisdom started pouring in. It’s an amazing thing to get different perspectives on the topic, this makes for a brilliant conversation when we all share and discuss it on the show.

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<center>![vote.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRovRRKbFSkTnpvwtZk26hA3ACAy559dyB2Wp1v1LJqQF/vote.jpg)</center>
<center><sub>*[source](https://unsplash.com/photos/5CoOYSxILSw) - photo by [arnaud jaegers](https://unsplash.com/@ajaegers)*</sub></center>

The votes have been rolling in from the attendees and we have the two posts with the most votes ready to share with you all. These two members will level up and will receive a 50% daily upvote from BuddyUP through the week. They will keep their level for 2 weeks, unless they reach the top two spot again which will level them up further and increase their voting percentage by 10% (I know that the BuddyUP voting weight isn’t very strong, but this will change as the weeks go by and we will be able to reward you more for your magnificent efforts). 

As well as leveling up, the member with the most votes will be resteemed straight after this post. This is so we can all look back at the BuddyUP blog and see the winning posts from every week.

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### Lets see the posts!
<center>![fishheader.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmP5Wu12vcNwXRM94P7j9mMhaHshBUt2HjzvzgqK9CvqKz/fishheader.jpg)</center>

There is a great variety this first week and it’s evident that connections are important to all the participants. The posts are written very well and the quality content is there alongside your honest words. 

The votes are in from the voting channel and our top two posts have been read and judged. So without further ado, here is our winner for the very first Drop in the Ocean!

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# <center> @monchhichi23 </center>
<center>![leafheader.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZtnqzeoKo43r5zkAn8Xf3JRxqMN3DwmxYkJ3SuixfRtA/leafheader.png)</center>

This is a fantastic post which highlights what it means to have the connection. What are the factors that make a connection right for you? Who do you have a connection with more than others? Does the connection need to be on a human to human level? 

@monchhichi23 answers these questions through her expression and demonstrates on some level what Connection should be about. 

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<center>![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmechqXym2CiR8EnfAPpVj7Tqo3T8G6wWmu7CCen3VE4qw/image.png)</center>

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Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve all noticed amazing strides forward with @monchhichi23’s writing and how she expressing herself through her words. It’s utterly brilliant and always a pleasure to drop by to see what she has been got in store next. Make sure you head over to the post to see why the Drop in the Ocean attendees voted for this weeks winner.

Check out [Being Just a Drop in the Ocean: Are You Lucky Enough to Make Connections?](https://steemit.com/dropintheocean/@monchhichi23/being-just-a-drop-in-the-ocean-are-you-lucky-enough-to-make-connections) and add your thoughts to this brilliant post.

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And in second place…

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# <center>@dreemsteem</center>
<center>![coralheader.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTQGBNpGgS2uvcr7Ea9PSNWPdzVogtMpUERWU7pYqn6VR/coralheader.png)</center>

When I said what the topic was almost two weeks ago, dreemsteem knew straight away what she was going to write about. A light flicked on and the idea for this post was born. It’s different, full of wisdom, and an amazing reflection about what connection is between a community of people.

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<center>![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVpV1wx3a8Vyn9wkko9hKM5UadiH2GgC1koipUJWHxjgm/image.png)</center>

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By using such an interesting analogy, @dreemsteem has highlighted some very important elements of connection that may be usually swept under the rug. Especially when she states how all of the lights are on together until one of them burns out. The slow-burning hum of the flickering lights is closely related to how we all are in the community. 

Check out [Connection: a Drop in the Ocean post](https://steemit.com/writing/@dreemsteem/connection-a-drop-in-the-ocean-post), it is such a potent post with a fantastic message.

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@monchhichi23 & @dreemsteem will receive a level up in Drop in the Ocean, which will stay with them for 2 weeks. If they place in the top two within the 2 week period, then they’ll receive another level.

Level 1 = Daily upvote of 50% from the BuddyUP account
Level 2 = Daily upvote of 60% from the BuddyUP account
Level 3 = Daily upvote of 75% from the BuddyUP account 

<sub> These will all be scalable over time to account for our voting weight </sub>

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# <center>Our incredible runners up</center>
<center>![fishcover3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeNtMdHH5LtnHre3cDYDMgA2yUNofzNmtU4YpHmPSyfDD/fishcover3.jpg)</center>

Of course, this post won’t just be highlighting the members with the most votes. We are also going to share the other entries this week who did a remarkable job of showing their perspectives on the topic of the week. 

(As the weeks go by, we will be curating 5 entries from the show based on the votes and the top two will receive a level).

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<center>@andysantic48 - [Connections](https://steemit.com/dropintheocean/@andysantics48/connections)</center>

<center>@lymepoet - [Connection](https://steemit.com/dropintheocean/@lymepoet/connection)</center>

<center>@poetrybyjeremy - [Connection : A Drop in the Ocean](https://steemit.com/dropintheocean/@poetrybyjeremy/connection-a-drop-in-the-ocean)</center>

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### Final thoughts of the week
<center>![anenomecover.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYbxGT2u1j5En2ZPmfNrH2SFC3FgXZg2Xqo4aaRAuAgLH/anenomecover.jpg)</center>

Such an amazing week for our community. There is a lot of promise for the near future with the fantastic members who are already here. The Drop in the Ocean show on Friday really highlighted how strong we are as a group and it showed me how important it is for us to share our perspectives and gain value from how we all think. 

We are only as strong as the weakest link and none of our Christmas lights are going to be burning out.

<center>**We all grow together**</center>

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<center>![buddyupavatarupdatedsmall.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQLUFKSZ9XRTsvrjsCLVKMKVh4UJu8djusisQME6jFuAq/buddyupavatarupdatedsmall.png)</center>

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<center>This has been @calumam, thanks for reading.</center>

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<center>All headers are sourced from [unsplash.com](unsplash.com) or from the authors post.</center>

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