I started community college in the fall of 2007 at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College: Perkinston Campus (MGCCC-P). I can't tell you how obviously nervous I was but I chose this location as it was adequately far enough away from the colleges my high school graduation mates would choose to go to. I was on a path to becoming a new person and to leave behind the torment that was my HS days...

My first roommate was a rather large (in height and musculature) african-american guy named Dap. He seriously never told me his real name. I gained immense "street knowledge" from him as he thought it was hilarious for this white kid to ask him all these silly questions. Roughly a month into that first semester Dap was forced to leave and I met my future friend, Alex (FA User,  Akkeresu ). We hit it off right away and very quickly decided to be roommates (as we were forced to have one it was better to pick one or be paired randomly [as I was before]).

Some time later into our cohabitation (and after he revealed his homosexuality to me) I sort of stumbled into the knowledge that he was a "furry". Now, he went easy on me at first and gave me the very vague sort of "likes various forms of anthropomorphic art" definition. I was honestly hip to it as I am easily the most prolific cartoon and anime watching adult that I know. It made sense.

Skip forward a ways to my meeting Darby (FA User,  Kader ). Besides the day that he came out to me as a homosexual (I literally laughed in his face because he's so damn macho and always gets hit on by women) there was the day he told me he was also a furry. He also kinda gave me the same vague definition mentioned before...but he also went into great detail as to how far the fandom itself can be taken.

(I'm gonna assume you all know exactly what I mean by that and I'm gonna skip the details myself.)

Now, this is literally the point in which I tucked my tail and ran (pun intended). I seriously wanted nothing to do with that "darker" side of the fandom. I very idiotically started assuming all furries I would ever meet were either full-fledged or were in the fur-closet over it. I even began to judge my two good friends (albeit mostly secretly).

This all came to a boiling point when I finally broke and had it out with both of them and expressed what I felt were my deepest concerns on the matter. Turns out it was really just my own ignorance, bias, and judgment at play. And while one of these two friends is in fact a bit "more involved" in the fandom (hell no I ain't saying which) it only served to teach me that you can only judge someone by what they bring to the table each and every day; and for these two fellas it has been a truly enriching experience on my part.

I guess the silver lining of all the negativity and judgment that is received by homosexuals and furries alike is that it teaches those people how to be some of the most genuine human beings imaginable. Obviously they would never want to inflict the sort of damage to others that has been dealt to them. I know this pain because I was greatly overweight for my entire high school experience and I would/will never let myself become the tormentors I faced daily.

So, in the end I sincerely have to say thank you to two of my very best friends/loves/rainbros and a fond HELLO to the rest of you.


I'll be here as long as you'll have me,

MUTLEET