A Journey of Joy and Recognition on This Platform

I’d like to share my gratitude today.

Today, I'm feeling great, so I wanted to share my joy with my friends and Medium family on a lighter note.

The cause of my joy was my biography being highlighted in the writer spotlight and my stories being nominated for Illumination-Curated. It was a publication I always aspired to write for but couldn't fathom when I started my writing journey here on Medium in August 2023.

In the beginning, I was confused and apprehensive, wondering if people would enjoy my work. Even reaching those first 100 followers posed a challenge. However, I decided to be authentic, sharing my thoughts and stories, and I'm grateful for the love and support from my readers and followers. Pleasingly, my followership effortlessly grew to 1.7k.

A heartfelt thank you to Dr. Mehmet Yildiz, a renowned figure on Medium, and the Illumination-Curated team for believing in me and appreciating my work. Dr. Yildiz has been a true mentor on this journey. He is among the kindest and most selfless persons I have met on Medium. I recommend everyone to read and support his work as he supports thousands of writers without any cost through his free Slack workspace.

The editors and chief editor loved my work and nominated my stories multiple times for their curation services. Although my boosted story "The Unseen Beauty of Pakistan" was published in Illumination, two other stories, "The Legacy of My Late Father: A Wisdom of Treasure" and "My Trip to Kashmir Was Like Heaven on Earth," garnered much appreciation and were not selected for a boost on this boost-nominating pub.

I hoped these stories would be selected as I poured my heart and soul into them. Unfortunately, they weren't selected so far. I assume Medium's curation team has unpredictable tastes and does not necessarily boost well-written and impactful stories unless they fancy their tastes, even if we meet boosting rules.

Regardless, I'm thrilled to be in the writer spotlight by Illumination-Curated. I'm honored and grateful to be given the opportunity among experienced writers.

Thanks to all my readers for liking and supporting my work, and I’ll strive to do the same for you.