It's a bit more than that actually but it's almost a year since I actively started to contribute to the community. This seems like a good moment to stop and look back on how I ended up here...

I was in a very, very rough moment of my life. I wasn't depressed but I had no sense of future, nothing to look up to, no light at the end of the tunnel. I had given up… And to top it off, my main computer died so I couldn’t even distract myself with my usual escapism, I was very limited on what I could do to not think about my situation.
In one of my random reddit browsings, I've found furry_irl, a place for furry memes. It was stupid, silly and it distracted me from my daily, sad reality. So I slowly started to leave some comments, upvote others... and eventually, I made a post myself. It was super low effort, a really bad one. But some people liked, others laughed and that made me feel good. I went back to my old drawing hobby, drew a couple more furry and memes and people really liked it.
I've found something that I can do that people not only enjoyed but supported me. And so I took my very first mad decision:

I bought a drawing tablet.

I was used to traditional but they’re not easy to upload and look quite bad when taking a picture. Digital art made things much easier but it was quite the learning curve. I wanted to get better at it. I started to admire general furry art more, getting inspired, wanting to draw just like the artists everybody knows and therefore, I went into a freefall of furry tutorials. Learning tips and tricks, do’s and don’ts, the general gist. I was getting better at drawing my memes and some general art that I was starting pull off as well but it wasn’t enough.
I went after streams of furry art. I found a couple but one in particular had such a nice group that I just wanted to come back not only for myself but to spend a nice time with them. And thanks to them, I took my second mad decision:

I got myself a Discord.

It was a place where I could enjoy their company not only during stream times but whenever. I would soon find out that many Reddit pals also had Discord so I could spend my time with them as well and not only when making memes. I can say that I made some good, real friends there. I’ve also lost some that pained me to see them go… but the most unusual thing that came from all of this is that I found love. Someone just for me, someone who I want to give myself whole~
My drawing shenanigans continues, of course. I reached a 100 followers on Reddit, my first artist milestone. Slowly getting to the same mark here on FA as well (that's you peeps~). An increasing number of people telling me they would really like an art from me to the point of paying me for it… And so, I took my third mad decision:

I would be doing commissions…

I know you haven’t seen anything about it yet but I have been working on the backstage. I know, I’m terribly slow with it, I’m so sorry but you have to trust me! I have more than 50% done, I’m so damn close I can almost smell it!!! <w<”
But yes, that is going to happen this year! Just you wait.

One year ago, I was lonely, no prospects of what laid ahead, no will to fight, nothing. And now, here I stand, a handful of friends, with someone who I love and loves me back, with a new passion for a hobby that might even earn me a couple of bucks. All because I decided to interact with a bunch of furries...
I still haven’t solved all of my issues from one year ago. However, they do seem a lot lighter now. And maybe, just maybe, one year from now, they’ll be finally gone.

Wish me luck.