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Dan's Look Back at 2017 + a look forward at 2018
8 years ago
Hello, hello and thrice hello. Just like last year, I’m ignoring my parents attempt at partying by hiding in my room and writing a new years’ journal to celebrate the end of 2017. A turbulent year for pretty much everybody around the world. As my country vaguely attempts to look like they are trying to get out of the European Union, and most of you reading this from America on low income may be about to be drafted into the Hunger Games, we have all had our own little personal incidents and accomplishments that are unrelated to the exceedingly weird news cycle.
Personally for me, this year has possibly been the most turbulent in my entire life. I hit my highest point and my lowest point within the same month in fact. After three years of studying in Manchester, I graduated in July with a first class honour’s degree in Film Studies, my main aspiration in life up to that point. I left behind my life in Manchester and returned to my hometown of Runcorn to simply try and take that degree further, which I need to do by increasing my academic writing portfolio. As most of you know, my motivation for writing hasn’t been great this year xP this is due to a number of reasons that kinda changed in the middle of the year.
Almost exactly one week after my graduation ceremony I hit my lowest point and contemplated suicide for the first time in a very long time, which is an indicator of how fast mental health can go to shit I guess. A combination of severe upset at having to leave behind my independent life in Manchester and move back in with my parents in a small town, along with a disastrous attempt at my next job, meant I kinda felt like I had nowhere to go except, nowhere I guess. I’d be lying if I’d said I was completely recovered from that period, but importantly, I have a lot in my life to be happy for, which I now appreciate more than ever.
All of the people online who take the time to talk to me about whatever and consider me a friend, are people that help me to survive every day, and if it wasn’t for them then I wouldn’t have survived the middle of this year. The people I speak to on DA or FA or especially on Discord and very especially in my semi-private Discord server, are the people that keep me going. And I’m sure everyone reading this has their own circle of friends that they feel exactly the same way about. It seems to be a common thing with people in the furry fandom to suffer from depression or anxiety or other mental health related issues. It leads to friendships being volatile in a way, but it also allows us all to connect even deeper and support each other through the same issues.
It’s important to treasure your friends and treat every day with them as if they will be your last, because unfortunately nobody knows what the world may throw at us. Don’t be as sappy as this all the time xP but do make sure your friends all know that you love them
That’s just something I really wanted to say, since it’s had such a profound effect on me this past year, and I’m sure it will well into 2018 and beyond also. But enough of the sappy bollocks, let’s talk about porn :D
My writing motivation has already been covered many times, I have many many plans for stories and nearly-completed drafts that have gone a long time without being finished xP and despite me having so many unfinished projects, through some minor miracle I was able to write the Buizel fic recently entirely in one sitting, a burst of motivation I very rarely see now. I’m glad so many of you seemed to like that fic, as it’s now up there as one of my most fav’d uploads on both sites. I’m not going to say anything about my potential future work, but just rest assured, none of my projects have been abandoned, my work on my dragonsona and Mendel and Claw House etc is all still ongoing, I’m just not sure when I will feel up to completing them, and I dont want to upload a half-arsed load of shite I’ve just rushed out to fulfil some kind of quota.
So, in 2018, what to expect from me? Well, although I can’t specify when, there will be more stories, more doodles as I finally get off my arse and practice drawing again, more articles as I begin my regular film criticism/journalism portfolio (which I will post a separate journal about once it’s gotten going), more fun, and more laughs :3
Here’s to a prosperous, joyous, successful, happy and indeed very very ticklish 2018~
Personally for me, this year has possibly been the most turbulent in my entire life. I hit my highest point and my lowest point within the same month in fact. After three years of studying in Manchester, I graduated in July with a first class honour’s degree in Film Studies, my main aspiration in life up to that point. I left behind my life in Manchester and returned to my hometown of Runcorn to simply try and take that degree further, which I need to do by increasing my academic writing portfolio. As most of you know, my motivation for writing hasn’t been great this year xP this is due to a number of reasons that kinda changed in the middle of the year.
Almost exactly one week after my graduation ceremony I hit my lowest point and contemplated suicide for the first time in a very long time, which is an indicator of how fast mental health can go to shit I guess. A combination of severe upset at having to leave behind my independent life in Manchester and move back in with my parents in a small town, along with a disastrous attempt at my next job, meant I kinda felt like I had nowhere to go except, nowhere I guess. I’d be lying if I’d said I was completely recovered from that period, but importantly, I have a lot in my life to be happy for, which I now appreciate more than ever.
All of the people online who take the time to talk to me about whatever and consider me a friend, are people that help me to survive every day, and if it wasn’t for them then I wouldn’t have survived the middle of this year. The people I speak to on DA or FA or especially on Discord and very especially in my semi-private Discord server, are the people that keep me going. And I’m sure everyone reading this has their own circle of friends that they feel exactly the same way about. It seems to be a common thing with people in the furry fandom to suffer from depression or anxiety or other mental health related issues. It leads to friendships being volatile in a way, but it also allows us all to connect even deeper and support each other through the same issues.
It’s important to treasure your friends and treat every day with them as if they will be your last, because unfortunately nobody knows what the world may throw at us. Don’t be as sappy as this all the time xP but do make sure your friends all know that you love them
That’s just something I really wanted to say, since it’s had such a profound effect on me this past year, and I’m sure it will well into 2018 and beyond also. But enough of the sappy bollocks, let’s talk about porn :D
My writing motivation has already been covered many times, I have many many plans for stories and nearly-completed drafts that have gone a long time without being finished xP and despite me having so many unfinished projects, through some minor miracle I was able to write the Buizel fic recently entirely in one sitting, a burst of motivation I very rarely see now. I’m glad so many of you seemed to like that fic, as it’s now up there as one of my most fav’d uploads on both sites. I’m not going to say anything about my potential future work, but just rest assured, none of my projects have been abandoned, my work on my dragonsona and Mendel and Claw House etc is all still ongoing, I’m just not sure when I will feel up to completing them, and I dont want to upload a half-arsed load of shite I’ve just rushed out to fulfil some kind of quota.
So, in 2018, what to expect from me? Well, although I can’t specify when, there will be more stories, more doodles as I finally get off my arse and practice drawing again, more articles as I begin my regular film criticism/journalism portfolio (which I will post a separate journal about once it’s gotten going), more fun, and more laughs :3
Here’s to a prosperous, joyous, successful, happy and indeed very very ticklish 2018~
