Will I forever be an apprentice?

As the others have said it's about how many likes you get. Not just likes on diaries but also comments you make. It's took me nearly 5 years to hit grandmaster status. As others have pointed out there are ways to spam your account if your into that kind of thing, but really the status thing don't mean shit because people can spam it.

It's based on likes. It's not faking likes if you build a network and swap likes with folks. Once you reach guru you top out.

Its not about diaries. Its about the number of likes. If your active in the community and not a dick then people will like your comments. Once you hit 1000 likes your at the next level. Another option is to spam a copy paste on every diary you can. The diary owner will possibly like your comment. Lastly you could be like homer and run a bot. the bot will spam comment on diaries, The second part is having a second bot to spam like the first spam you did.

Yes, it's all based on "likes" - not on diaries... but I challenge Ex_Alchemist to tell us how to "fake likes" - you get "likes" by engaging the community, by being involved, by reaching out and establishing good and genuine relationships with other growers, by being helpful and respectful. Is it a stupid way of designating a level? Absolutely.