I've noticed that these days I've been a little negative on the con scene, quipping on how its repetitive and its all people wanna do now a days. But once upon a time however, it was all I wanted to do, mostly due to it being fun and exciting. After the sugarwolf crisis, Lobo told me I couldn't go with him to Anthrocon anymore. I was very disappointed, but then something cool happened. My two best friends, Ket and Dreamwolf said they were going to AC, thus giving me a reason to go. A fun fact, I coulda gone to the first FAU back in 07' but I chose not to because I wanted to go see Rush Hour 3 opening weekend. Anthrocon was destined to be my first fur con experience, because if FAU was I probably would have never done another con.

I was 18 years old and going somewhere far away for the first time without my mother, this was a huge freaking deal to me at the time. F2f at this point was pretty irrelevant to me and after this con, my goals in the fandom would change completely. I wish I could remember exactly what I was feeling on the way there, the truth is I didn't know what to expect. For a few weeks I had been working at the Central Park zoo taking photos of the guests just to save up for this con. I didn't like that job very much, but the labor was well worth the reward. If you want a detailed recap of my first con you can check out my first journal on this site http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/421448/ Spoiler Alert: I ended up having a blast

I was very different back then, far more enthusiastic about the fandom then I am now mostly because it was all very new to me. The environment was so welcoming and carefree, it felt like disneyworld., and I was with my best friends, one I had met there in person for the first time. When I say it was the best weekend of my life, I meant it. Now for the first time you guys can see what I felt in this never been seen footage of me gushing about my first Anthrocon. Going to the river and talking about our AC has always been a tradition, this was the beginning. Apologies for the poor quality, I had to record this off my TV



A lot changed after that, I wanted to be a better person socially and physically. I felt uncomfortable with my weight at the con, this was the first time I realized I wanted to live up to my full potential. I've noticed that first cons tend to have a lasting effect on a lot of people, not just myself. This is a subject I talked about in this journa I started to spend less time on the computer and instead searched for furry activity in the real world. Me and Dream became really good friends that summer, our bond was legit. Looking back at the other footage from that con, I cant believe how much things have changed in the fandom in such a short amount of time. Back then it was about being creative, now its about who looks the coolest/sexually desirable, who has the most followers etc. I'm not saying things are worst, just different.. Will I ever have another experience as special as my first Anthrocon, I sure hope so.

As a bonus, I included a video of Dream's speech as well