What has YWS done for you?

I just can't even comprehend where I'd be without YWS. I've been on the site for nearly 6 years now, and without having joined it I would be a drastically different person.

So I don't have the proper perspective to be able to tell what YWS has done for me.

Where would I be? Probably hiding under the bed and not wanting to come out.

YWS - apart from helping me improve my writing, and by improve I mean *really* improve - was like a home for me in a safe place. Life hasn't been that easy but my friends on YWS were always here to support when times were hard, laugh when times were good and generally feel so much better about everything. It's here that I can find people who actually understand me and share the same interests and comparing it to my life outside this website, I can't believe that there are so few people that I know like that.

I don't know where I'd be without YWS as a person. I don't want to think about it either.

Thanks for everything, YWS <3

I'd like say that without the support of many awesome people on YWS, I probably would have never pursued my art as a hobby like I am now. I've gained a lot of self confidence here and my favorite thing about this community is that is doesn't only focus on improving your writing; everyone is here for each other in more ways than just that.

*end of sap*

So.

I was just reading an old blog of mine, in which I talk about my reaction to learning of Conrad Rice's death. And it contained a passage or two about what YWS means for me, and I think, for all of us.

I thought about his presence on this website, I thought about why it was I could be affected in this manner, and then I thought of my old friend and I realised that though I hadn't spoken to him in some time, though I hadn't seen him in a while, my old friend remained a familiar presence in my existence, in the social fabric of my life - so familiar that I needn't look to him too often, or speak to him even, simply knowing he was there and the option to visit, to talk, to reminisce and entertain was always there.

I thought about the little pop up, the cached sign of 'Young Writers Society - Home' and how true, how apt that really is. This place is a home to so many of us. Often, it has provided an escape, a community in which we felt accepted for who we are in a way that was lacking in life. That is because it allowed us to explore parts of ourselves that for whatever reason, we couldn't share with or were afraid to share with our day to day friends and companions. It allowed - and still does - our creativity to blossom among like-minded people. People like Conrad. We've lost a friend - an old friend and companion, a part of YWS now gone and it is this connection that has suffered a blow and this is a major part of why I'm hurting right now, I think.

It's like walking through your house, down the corridor to your room, a walk you've completed a million times without thought - you arrive to your room slightly perturbed and turn back, just a little, and see from the corner of your eye a blank square where a painting used to hang.

You know, when Jack asked myself, and a bunch of other old members to come back, it really wasn't a difficult decision at all. Sure, we all have time constraints now, jobs, things to do, but it wasn't difficult to say yes. To come back and say hello to a place that nurtured us all in our wild, fragile, teenage days. It was every bit as important as the roof we had over our heads, the structure that housed us, that contained us, that saw us bounce around from wall to wall - saw us fall down, bruised, and scratched, and hurting, only to get up again, supported by our friends and taught to learn from our mistakes.

I said it before, and I'll say it again, because it says it all:

YWS was home. Is home.

And in some respects, always will be.

YWS made me see some of my errors in writing which urges me to improve. I, also, like reading the works and pieces made by the writers here. Thus, inspires me to keep on writing..

ll
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This is a question where I can never stop saying even a million "Thank you" 's. Really.

Apart from the "It has helped me to improve on my writing", YWS has done that for everyone, it has never failed to do it. But there are things far apart from these things.

I came in here, not a person who really loved Harry Potter and I wasn't the one who would really break out from my shell. I always thought I would be that shy and clumsy girl, I always thought I would never satisfy other people and not make friends with any of them. To be frank, I was really bad at making friends. I rarely had anyone until I came here.

Lots of people understood me, took the patience to even teach me what was right and wrong. It was a little hard for me to swallow it all together but that's another thing YWS taught me. Patience and break away from my shell. I finally managed it! Because of YWS and all the lovely people here, I finally did it. What more could I want than expressing the true-self of me?

YWS is a place for me to escape from all my sorrows and to leave all the tension behind me. This place is like Home to me. A place where I can truly speak and keep myself happy. And wherever you walk by, there's at least one person to tell you "You'll do a great job." or "I'm here for you". That's all I need to keep myself going on. YWS has showered me with lots of love and brings me to different worlds everyday. That warm and happy feeling is what keeps YWS as it is.

Oh, my! I've always been ranting about what YWS has done for me, but now it's time to compile my thoughts.

I can't thank YWS enough for giving me a confidence which has helped me not only on this site but also in my life. I've grown confident of my abilities as a writer but most of all I've improved my English which is a big thing for someone whose first language isn't English. Proudly, I can say that my English is a lot better than my mother tongue.

Also, YWS has helped me widen my horizons. I used to think that I was flawless as a writer(obviously a big mistake) but it has given me enough knowledge to be able to critique my own piece. I can help myself write better. ^_^ Which is totes awesome.

Plus, it has given me some of the best human beings on the planet as friends. I don't know what I would do without my virtual friends! They complete me, they understand me better than my friends whom I have known for years.

So, thanks YWS for being the awesome you! <3

This is an interesting question to me. After all, I'm hardly active in the community, and I barely write anymore unless science papers count (although I'm working on something I might post soon). Yet no matter how long I'm gone, I'll get a random message from the site and I'll go check in. Next thing you know, it's one of my most visited sites. Why?

Well, eight years ago, I needed a place to write, to dream, to express the chaos in my head, to feel like maybe I was understood. And I found my way here from another writing site and got exactly what I was looking for. Were some lessons (both writing-related and more personal) harder to learn than others? Yes, but I needed to learn those lessons. I needed to grow up. And I can't imagine doing it anywhere else. One good thing about coming back here is I get to remember how far I've come.

Also, I feel like writing has saved my life as I've dealt with bipolar disorder. If I hadn't found YWS, I might have given up on writing. If I had, I might have turned to more destructive means of coping. Pure speculation, but I know writing has helped make me strong again.

Viva YWS!