I never really had any friends back then. I was always the kid who ate alone in the lunchroom, or sat in the corner doing homework while my classmates socialized and had fun. I spent a lot of time by myself playing with my action figures and watching cartoons. I've drawn since I was 6, and I used to really get into those shows that had ties of friendships, thigs like Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Power Rangers, and Nickelodeon's Doug.

When I first heard of the furry fandom in college, I was already creating my own characters. Starting out if was a lot of shoe loss stuff. I know when I was a kid, I saw stuff that forever imprinted that thought in my mind, though I couldn't tell you what they were, just hazy vague memories. I always thought I was a weirdo, but I started to find my place with these new people. When I created some of my first sonas like Terry, Mutteo, and Aodhan, it was my hope to make friends and not feel so alone. Back then the fandom was very different, and in the end the only people I would feel comfortable with were my own creations. I didn't have a lot of self esteem back then, and I made and lost friends as often as a revolving door. It was a very sad existence.

One day I met two friends that completely changed my world around. The first was my dog Otis, and he helped me during the worst of times, gave me unconditional love, and a beacon of life, and cemented my love for animal characters. The other was Rik, and he forever changed my views of everything and saw the world itself in a new light that I could understand.

It was then that I found my own style and started to create a world for myself, filled with lots of characters with their own personalities, dreams, and friendships. This was a world I could lose myself in. I would eventually call this place Sunnisyde, where shoes were a part of the town's history and the greatest commodity, a place where most of the characters are adolescent teens, a time that I never got to experience being a lone introvert. I never went to the mall with friends, I never went to the prom, never experienced love, none of that. Maybe this is a way to experience life I never did, through my art. Really it's the only life i would ever know.

I'm married to my art, first and foremost, but lately I've been a bit lost for a while. I hid from people for years and buried my work so nobody would see it. When Otis died, I started to lose my sense of self and purpose. Coming back to the fandom, was a way to come back to my roots and realized that kind of impact my life has been over the years. I'm still trying to find my way, but the people I've met along the way really shaped me into the person I am today.

The thing I have to come to understand is Sunnisyde and all of its inhabitants are an extension of myself, my heart and soul, and I need to remember how important is is for me to allow it to grow and nurture and become the world I hope it will be. I only have so many years on this Earth, and it is my dream that world will live in the hearts of others, its colors, its happiness, it's energy, and perhaps it will become even more than it already is.

I thank everyone for entering my world and enjoying everything it has to offer. This is my very being, my everything, to be able to draw and illustrate my inner passion for all to see.

I hope it has made you smile. Here's to a better and brighter tomorrow~