![peachmspwhale.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmayj6XmtTkEzhLdPkLmLqEhzGsPoWP1G3pCpEqvBwJMAu/peachmspwhale.jpg)

### Last night a little birdy landed on my shoulder and whispered in my ear that I should apply to be a moderator on the Minnow Support/ PAL discord, I have been spending quite a lot of time in there but this came as quite a surprise! I had to think about it for a moment because this is something I hadn't considered but as I pondered the idea I realized I should go for it and here's why.
<br>

When I first joined the discord I had never really been involved in chats or groups very much. I tend to be a fairly solitary person and upon entering the main chatroom I was overwhelmed at the speed of posts. I felt somewhat like I was intruding on a room of already established friends. I slowly backed out and didn't visit again for a few days. I then got to chatting with @isaria and she told me of the quiet room which is much more slow paced and somewhat of an introverted place to hang out. I wandered in and said hello and made a few friends and thought that would forever be my place on the server.

After getting to know some of the members there I decided to venture back into general chat while things were slow and say hi. I was warmly greeted by mods and other users and realized that my initial perception of barging in was totally in my head! As long as you are nice and abide by the rules you will be welcomed. Within a week I already felt like I had formed some great friendships and I started to realize the potential of such a wonderful network and how this could improve my life as a minnow on Steemit!

If you don't already know the MSP/PAL network is a group of around 5K members that are dedicated to helping all the little minnows flourish! Aside from the amazing network of friends you can meet they have just launched a 24/7 radio station, and started numerous projects geared towards elevating minnows and helping them thrive.

After being there for a while I was asked to be an unofficial greeter and welcome new members into the room which I fully embraced to the best of my abilities. I will say I also took it upon myself to be an "unofficial mod" and help newbies get registered, and warn people when they were breaking the rules so this seems like a natural step!

### My Community Projects
<br> My primary focus on Steemit is art and since being here I have started an art competition called ART EXPLOSION! Already on week 6!
https://steemit.com/art/@juliakponsford/art-explosion-contest-week-6-surrealism-30sbd-in-prizes-this-week

The aim of this contest is to unite the art community on Steemit and allow artists to find each other, it also allows people with a smaller reach to get a bit more exposure :) It has been a great success so far and done a wonderful job connecting people!

I have also started a series called Portraits of Steemians which has primarily been focused on MSP members and is a fun way to introduce people to the community!

As an extension of all this to further help the minnows I would like to do a weekly art curation of undervalued art posts. I have just surpassed 600 followers so if I can help get 600 more eyes on some well deserving art I will feel that I have done something good.

I am also involved in a new MSP project MAM (Make a Minnow) where one deserving person per week is nominated to get a delegation of 10k steem power for a month so we can put some minnows on the path to whalehood that much faster! See the details here, also if you are a whale reading this and would like to sponsor please get in touch:
https://steemit.com/makeaminnow/@sammosk/a-polite-hello-from-me-to-you-minnowsupport-teamaustralia-msp-suportnetwork-introducing-makeaminnow


If you are a minnow and not already part of the discord, what are you waiting for? Join here: https://discord.gg/XqVMRCr

Also be sure to follow the @minnowsupport account for updates!

## So there you have it, if you want me as a mod I am all yours :) Much love and Peaches!
<br><3 Julia
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