From a Rookie to a Steward: My First Steps into @GenLayer The story of how a simple “Good morning, I am new here” turned into eight months of learning, building, friendships, growth, and eventually becoming a Steward in the GenLayer ecosystem. It is funny how time flies when you are part of something you genuinely love. Sometimes, I sit back and think about how everything started, and I find it hard to believe that it has been almost eight months since I first discovered GenLayer. Eight months might not seem like a long time to some people, but when I look back at everything that has happened, the people I have met, the mistakes I have made, the lessons I have learned, and how much I have grown, it feels like an entire journey. To think that everything started with a simple search on CryptoRank. 😂 Let me take you back to where it all began. --------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1: February 25, 2026. The Day Everything Started In February 2026, I was doing what I usually do, researching crypto projects on CryptoRank, looking for projects with unique use cases and something genuinely different from what we already had in the blockchain space. During that research, I came across a project called GenLayer. At first, I was simply curious. I wanted to understand what the project was building, what made it different, and why its approach to blockchain technology was unique. That curiosity led me to the GenLayer Discord community and the Builder Portal. On February 5, 2026, I officially joined the Discord channel, and on February 26, 2026, I joined the portal. I still remember the very first message I sent in the Discord channel: "Good morning everyone, I am new here. I will need a guide." Looking back at that message today makes me smile because I genuinely had no idea what I was getting myself into. 😂 I was completely new to the ecosystem. I didn't understand much about how GenLayer worked, how to build on it, or even how the Builder Portal operated. All I knew was that I wanted to learn. Fortunately, someone was there to welcome me. His name was Kendrich (@TOP041091). It might have seemed like a normal welcome message to him, but to me, it was the beginning of something special. Sometimes, the smallest gestures make people feel comfortable enough to stay, learn, and become part of a community. And that was exactly what happened. --------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2: From a Stranger to Finding My People After joining, I gradually started interacting with the community. At first, I was just another newcomer trying to understand what was happening. I would read conversations, ask questions, observe how things worked, and participate whenever I could. As the days went by, I started meeting some amazing people. People like @papito_dele , @imanixyx , @autoporta, @Lolaaa_00_ , @Ifeeomaa, @ChrisEmmanuelK1, @Mfon_crypto, and several others who made my early days in the ecosystem memorable. What made the experience special wasn't just the conversations about GenLayer or blockchain technology. It was the atmosphere. There was always something happening in the community. From events and discussions to different activities that brought everyone together, there was hardly a dull moment. I actively participated in the community events, and trust me, it was always fun. 😂 Beyond the fun, I was learning without even realizing how much knowledge I was gaining. Every conversation introduced me to something new. Every question someone asked allowed me to learn. Every interaction made me feel more connected to the ecosystem. Gradually, GenLayer stopped feeling like just another Discord server I had joined. It started feeling like a place where I belonged. But little did I know that the most interesting part of my journey was about to begin. --------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3: March 20, 2026. The Hackathon That Changed Everything Fast forward to March 20, 2026. The Bradbury Hackathon kicked off. Now, this particular event holds a very special place in my GenLayer journey because it was what pushed me from being an ordinary community participant to becoming a builder. Before then, I had been learning and interacting with the ecosystem, but the hackathon gave me a reason to actually sit down and build something. I decided to participate. My idea was to build a court system for dispute resolution, a platform where disputes could be handled and resolved. I named it Lex-Court. Lex-Court became my very first build on GenLayer. You needed to see how happy I was when I finished building it. 😂 In my mind, I had built something really impressive. I was proud of myself because I had taken the bold step of moving from learning about a technology to actually trying to build with it. I submitted my project and waited for the results. Eventually, the list of accepted projects was released. 92 projects were accepted. I started checking the list, looking for Lex-Court. I checked. Checked again. And checked one more time. My project was nowhere to be found. 😂😂😂 Imagine the disappointment! I was genuinely confused because, as far as I was concerned, I had built a project and submitted it. So why wasn't it accepted? But instead of simply moving on, I wanted to understand what went wrong. And that decision became one of the most important turning points in my journey. --------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4: "You Submitted Just an HTML File" 😂 Out of curiosity, I opened a support ticket and tagged @raskovsky to ask why my project had not been accepted. Ras responded and requested my GitHub repository. I sent it to him, expecting him to go through the project and perhaps explain some minor issue I needed to fix. Then came his response: "You submitted just an HTML file." And my response was: "Is that not accepted?" 😂😂😂 Looking back at that conversation today, I can't help but laugh. At that point, I genuinely didn't understand the difference between building a simple frontend interface and building a functional application that actually integrates with GenLayer's technology. In my mind, once I had created something that looked like an application, I had built a project. But Ras helped me understand that there was much more to it. He took his time to explain what I needed to do, what was expected of a proper GenLayer build, and the areas I needed to improve. That conversation changed my perspective completely. Instead of seeing the rejection as the end of my attempt to become a builder, I started seeing it as the beginning of my learning process. I took note of everything Ras told me. I went back to study. I practiced. I made mistakes. I tried again. I spent the following weeks learning and improving my understanding of how to build applications that genuinely use GenLayer. There were things I didn't understand immediately, and there were moments when I had to revisit the same concepts several times. But I kept learning. One thing I realized during that period was that sometimes, the most valuable feedback you can receive is the feedback that shows you how much you still need to learn. That rejection taught me more than an easy acceptance probably would have. And today, I am genuinely grateful to Ras for taking the time to explain those things to a rookie who thought submitting an HTML file was enough. 😂💚 --------------------------------------------------- Chapter 5: May 19, 2026. My First Accepted Project After weeks of studying, practicing, and trying to improve my skills, I finally felt ready to submit another project. This time, I wanted to do things differently. I wanted to apply what I had learned from my previous experience and build something that demonstrated a better understanding of GenLayer. On May 19, 2026, I submitted my first project to the GenLayer Builder Portal. The project was called Crowd Source Knowledge. I still remember the excitement of submitting it, but there was also that little feeling of uncertainty. What if it gets rejected again? What if there is something I have missed? What if I still haven't understood everything properly? Well, the review eventually came in. And guess what? My project was accepted and awarded 400 points! 🎉 400 POINTS! You can imagine how happy I was. For someone whose first hackathon project didn't even make the accepted list, receiving 400 points on my first portal submission meant a lot. It wasn't just about the points. It was about the progress. It was proof that the time I spent studying, practicing, and correcting my mistakes had not been wasted. It reminded me of where I started, the HTML file Ras had pointed out, and how far I had come since then. That moment gave me a new level of motivation. I wanted to build more. I wanted to understand GenLayer better. I wanted to explore more ideas and see what else I could create. And that was exactly what I continued doing. --------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6: From Learning to Helping Others Learn As I continued building on GenLayer, something interesting started happening. I began noticing new builders joining the community with the same confusion I had experienced when I first arrived. Some didn't understand how the Portal worked. Some had ideas but didn't know how to start building. Others were struggling with bugs, contract integration, or understanding what was expected of their submissions. Whenever I saw those situations, I remembered my own experience. I remembered the rookie who joined Discord asking for a guide. I remembered how Ras took his time to explain what I needed to improve. And I realized that I could also make someone else's journey a little easier. So, alongside Papito, I started helping new builders in the community. We would guide them through the Portal, explain how things worked, help them understand what to build, and assist whenever they encountered technical difficulties. Sometimes, the assistance happened publicly in Discord. Other times, it happened privately through direct messages. For me, it was never about getting recognition or making noise about what I was doing. I simply enjoyed helping. There is a special kind of satisfaction that comes from seeing someone who was initially confused finally understand something, fix a bug, or successfully submit a project. The interesting thing is that helping others also helped me improve. Every question pushed me to understand GenLayer more deeply. Every technical issue I helped someone troubleshoot taught me something new. Gradually, I became more familiar with the Portal, the review process, and the technical expectations for projects. What started as an attempt to learn how to build was slowly becoming an opportunity to help others become builders too. I didn't know it at the time, but those little contributions were being noticed. --------------------------------------------------- Chapter 7: The Conversation With @joaquinbressan That I Didn't Expect Several months into my GenLayer journey, something happened that I never saw coming. One day, I was having a conversation with Joko in the ticket section (I had some issues with projects I submitted). During the conversation, I casually asked him a question: "What does it take to be a Steward?" It was a genuine question. By that point, I had spent months building, interacting with other builders, and learning how the ecosystem operated. Naturally, I was curious about the people who helped review contributions and worked on the Portal I wanted to understand what it took to become one of them. But Joko's response surprised me. He said: "I have actually been looking towards onboarding you and Papito to the Builder Working Group. I have seen how helpful you have been to everyone (builders)." I wasn't expecting that response at all. 😂 Here I was, simply asking what it took to become a Steward, only to discover that Joko had already been observing the work Papito and I had been doing. That moment meant a lot to me. Not because of the position itself, but because of the reason behind it. It wasn't about how many messages I had sent in Discord or how loudly I had announced my contributions. It was about the little things. The time spent guiding builders. The questions answered. The bugs we helped people fix. The effort put into making the building experience easier for others. Things we did because we genuinely wanted to help. And somehow, those things had spoken for us. That conversation taught me something important: You don't always need to announce your contributions for them to be noticed. Sometimes, consistency, genuine effort, and the impact you have on others speak louder than anything you could say about yourself. --------------------------------------------------- Chapter 8: August 26, 2026. From a Rookie to a Steward Then came August 26, 2026. Exactly 6 months and 21 days after I first joined the GenLayer community, Papito and I were officially onboarded into the Builder Working Group by Joko. We were welcomed, guided through our responsibilities, and introduced to the things we needed to understand and do as a Steward. I couldn't help but think about February 25. The day I joined Discord and said: "Good morning everyone, I am new here. I will need a guide." Back then, I was the one asking for guidance. Now, I was becoming part of a group responsible for supporting builders and helping maintain the quality of contributions within the ecosystem. Every experience had contributed to the journey. The rejection taught me to improve. The learning gave me confidence. The building gave me experience. Helping others gave me a greater sense of purpose. Becoming a Steward gave me an opportunity to contribute to the ecosystem from another perspective. Of course, becoming a Steward doesn't mean I suddenly know everything. There is still so much to learn, so much to improve, and so much more I want to contribute. And I am grateful for every experience that made that growth possible. --------------------------------------------------- Chapter 9: GenLayer Is More Than Just a Blockchain Project When people talk about GenLayer, they often describe it as a blockchain project or the "Adjudication Layer of the Internet." And technically, those descriptions explain what GenLayer is building. But for me, GenLayer has become something much more personal. It is the place where I came as a complete newcomer and found people willing to guide me. It is the place where my first project was rejected, but instead of giving up, I found a reason to learn and improve. It is the place where I submitted my first accepted project and experienced the excitement of seeing my efforts recognized. It is the place where I met amazing people, formed friendships, shared knowledge, laughed during community events, and found opportunities to help others. It is also the place where I learned that contribution isn't always about building the biggest application or receiving the highest points. Sometimes, contribution is answering a newcomer's question. Sometimes, it is helping someone fix a bug that has frustrated them for hours. Sometimes, it is giving honest feedback that helps a builder improve. And sometimes, it is simply being there for someone who needs guidance. When I look back at these past months, I realize that the most valuable thing I have gained from GenLayer isn't a score, a title, or a position. It is the people, the knowledge, the experiences, and the opportunity to grow alongside a community that continues to build and learn together. --------------------------------------------------- A Little Appreciation 💚 I want to appreciate Kendrich (@TOP041091) for welcoming me on my very first day. To Ras, thank you for that honest feedback during the Bradbury Hackathon. You probably didn't know it then, but that conversation played an important role in shaping my journey as a builder. To Joko, thank you for recognizing our efforts and giving us the opportunity to contribute through the Builder Working Group. To Papito, my fellow builder and now fellow Steward, thank you for being part of this journey. From helping new builders together to joining the Builder Working Group on the same day, it has been an amazing experience. To @RuzgarFlns, thanks for everything you do for the community. To Imani, Pavel, Lolaaa, Maryclaire, Creeis, Gendave, and everyone else I have interacted with along the way, thank you for making the community such an interesting place to be. And to every builder I have interacted with, learned from, or helped in one way or another, you are all part of this story. --------------------------------------------------- To me, GenLayer is more than just a "Blockchain Project." It is more than the "Adjudication Layer of the Internet." GenLayer is FAMILY. 💚 I am proud to be part of this family.

My spot in the @GenLayer airdrop is officially secured. But this journey has always been about more than an airdrop. From learning and building to contributing, connecting with amazing minds, and growing along the way, every experience has been worth it. Now, we look ahead to TGE. 🚀

2021: Entered Web3, bagged a ton of airdrops, then lost the seed phrases to the wallets holding my funds. 2022–2023: Left Web3 for Web2, only to come running back after watching my guys make it big from Arbitrum and Aptos. 2024–2025: Grinded my fucking ass off, rebuilt from scratch, and finally found my footing again. Late 2025: Lost EVERYTHING to a hack and poor fund management. Back to square one. 2026: HIGH TIME I RETIRED FROM WEB3. SKILL ISSUE??? 💀

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