Another yearly journal, almost been on FurAffinity for a decade now. 2023 was probably one of the hardest years I've ever gone through. Both of my dogs Lily and Shelby passed away within a month of each other, which absolutely wrecked me and it's still been hard dealing with the grief over them. We did adopt two new puppies who are absolutely wonderful, their names are Maddie and Maxy. To top off the year right at the end of December I also got Covid for the second time, at least the recovery wasn't too bad. But there have also been a few notable good things--I made a bunch of new friends putting myself out there more socially, and last month I attended my very first furry convention. It really is an unbelievable experience, like an alternate time dimension where for an entire weekend nothing in the world matters except the community and the fun.

Another big thing is that I've almost fully accepted myself as a trans person. It didn't feel right for a while calling myself trans since I still mainly present as a guy and don't have any plans to go on HRT or get surgery, but after a lot of soul searching I really am nonbinary with a feminine lean. I just wish people didn't automatically see me as a guy right away. I've even started voice training, and my fursona Cerulean is now a girl arctic fox. So little steps that will make a big difference in the long run. One day I'll try out different kinds of outfits too, but it will be a while probably.

That being said my page has always been a Pro LGBT, Pro Trans, Pro Feminist, Pro Choice, Anti Fascist, Anti Racist page. I don't tolerate bigotry and I won't engage with it.

As for my retail job I'm almost ready to leave. My health insurance plan is about to run out once I turn 26 so I have a new job I'm going for that comes with full benefits. The downside to it being that art will probably be harder to do as much since it will be full time and is much further away than my current job. I might be able to just do furry commissions full time someday, but I need to get the essentials secured first.

I've also been getting back into writing a lot more. I'm so glad people already like my OCs and hopefully some might have interest to know the stories they're actually a part of. I have a big series planned out that I'm slowly chipping away at. So if you like gay furries with Elemental powers dismantling corporate corruption then it might be the story for you.

Probably forgot something, I still have undiagnosed ADHD so my memory isn't always the best. But overall I feel like I have grown socially and emotionally the past year, and now I'm just working on the next step in my life. Thanks to everyone who continues to enjoy my art and characters, good night.