(I can't believe I spelled that word right the first time. Wow.) --
okay, it's 2017. I should probably actually do this now.
Just gonna tag some people in no particular order:
@Holysocks - You are an absolute joy to be around. I am sooo glad I got to know you better this year. Thank you for being my friend
@Gringoamericano - same to you! I'm so glad I got to know you better this year. You think you're a jerk, but you've only ever been a gentleman as far as I can see. You're also very talented and creative. I really hope I get to know you even better in 2017! I'm still waiting for MIS to come out with our one-hit wonder
which brings me to @Strange Buddy, you're amazing. I enjoy talking to you /whenever/ you're around, and your poetry is always a riot, except for when it's really thoughtful, and that's a whole different kind of fantastic. Keep creating, whatever you're led to create. Keep having Life Adventures. I always like reading about them because when you care about something, you do it with 100% of what you have. Boy, you're going places.
and of course, I won't forget @CowLogic, the next member of MIS. We need to collab some more for our band, man. I miss you too, but I guess that's life. Just don't disappear completely.
And the last member of MIS, @Kaos - you've really grown on me over the course of the year haha. It's crazy seeing how much a person can change in a year. I'm really impressed by your improvement in just about everything. And I'm proud to call you a friend here now in January.
@PenguinAttack - you never cease to amaze me. Whether it's jamming or just grossing chat out with our purple prose, I'm so thankful that I have the chance to be friends with someone so talented with words. I also am very thankful for your mentorship in just about any problem I'm having. It really means a lot to me that I have someone I can go to for advice on anything. Keep being absolutely beautiful.
@Mea - I still don't feel like I know you as well as I should. We should collab or... /something/ sometime. You seem super cool!
@Falconer - so happy I can still talk to you via YWS, and so glad I was able to see you again this winter! That was a good breakfast haha. You are seriously talented, and you can't imagine how impressed I am with how long you stayed in LMS! That's some serious dedication right there. You're gonna do amazing things, girl!
@Audy - your Poetry Jams are MY jam! And I'm also super happy whenever I get to talk to you. Hanging out for a bit today in the new discord thingy was really nice. Hope more poetry jams await us in 2017! (lemme know if you want to do some more of those structured ones. I'd love to help! But just chill, spontaneous ones are nice as well)
So here we are at the end of another year. 2016 is dying as I type this and I don't quite know what to say as it passes.
I think my biggest achievement of 2016 will always be this: I wrote a book. I outlined it and wrote it and finished it, or at least the first draft. It's a complete story, bar plot holes and typos. For years I didn't want to call myself a writer because I didn't feel like I'd written anything, but now, I am a writer.
I wanted to have another book written, or at least started, by now. That didn't happen thanks to junior year, but if all goes well I should begin the first chapter of the next one tomorrow. I think that's a pretty good way to start 2017.
I went to the Philippines in the summer, bringing my list of countries visited up from two to three. That was an amazing experience. I find travel stressful, but I still wish I could see the world.
I was modded in May. May 4th, I remember. I felt like I was in a state of shock for days. I guess that makes nearly eight months - it feels both much longer and much shorter. It's certainly changed my perspective in many ways. I've really enjoyed being able to help out with events like the YWS Olympics, and generally just trying to make this site a better place.
I feel like I can't write this tribute well. So much of 2016 has been wonderful for me, and yet the last few months have been extremely frustrating, with me wrestling with time and motivation and politics. And sometimes it's gotten to the point where YWS feels more stressful than anything.
I guess if I have New Years' goals going forward, they are these: to remember what I love and not waste my life and energy on unimportant or negative things. To talk to you guys more. And to write like there's no tomorrow.
Specific Shoutouts
@SirLight - You're a good friend, one of the few people I really feel like I know well enough to open up to. Thanks for sticking with me for this long. Also, I really enjoy your writing.
@Love - I smile every time we chat. You're just that kind of awesome person. Even when I'm kind of grumpy, you cheer me up without ever knowing it.
@Carlito - I feel like we're never online at the same time but I really wish we could chat more. I still love your writing and am just waiting for the day you'll be published.
@Wolfical - Ditto on the wishing we could talk more. Seriously, if you see me online, message me. You're such a wonderful person and I've appreciated so much how you've stuck with me and my writing.
@Kaos - It hasn't been that long since we started chatting, but you're cool and your poetry is stunning.
There are lots of other things I could say, other people I could mention, but I think I'll leave it here for now. Here is to the best of 2016, and a phenomenal 2017.
We're all stories in the end.
I think of you as a fairy with a green dress and a flower crown and stuff. -EternalRain
I think you, @Deanie and I are like the Three Book Nerd Musketeers of YWS. -bluewaterlily
A drawing of a bear was previously my placeholder, but let's be honest I only ever doodle in people's yearbooks anyway. This is also really late. But it's not a big deal, really, aha.
Everyone's writing all this really reflective stuff about the year, so I guess that's ok to do haha. I guess this ain't your run o' the mill, typical HAGS yearbook (which stands for Have a Great Summer - all the 7th graders would write that in the signing pages instead of anything meaningful, like an actual note or even a generic encouraging word).
This past year has been full of a lot of changes for me. I officially moved out of my parent's house (I took all of my things except my art portfolio, since I wasn't sure it would travel safely) and into my own home with 4 other fantastic housemates. And I also joined YWS - in February, if I remember correctly. I guess that means that my one year "anniversary" is coming up or something haha. Do we call them birthdays instead?? Eh. In any case.
I could go on about my personal life and all the self transformation and growth I've gone through, but I'm both too lazy to write all that out and it's, well, as I said, personal, haha. But rest assured I've grown a lot for the better this past year, and I've enjoyed my time on YWS.
I've really enjoyed the three SB's that I've joined so far (even though I'm not great at it, and all of them have stalled and one might have died, which isn't entirely not my fault). The Character Chit-Chat threads have also been really fun, for however long they last. And of course, lurking in the people tab has been A+ since I've gotten to learn a lot about all of your lives and creative endeavors.
I didn't really start socializing about the site until about halfwayish through my stay on the site, but I did meet some really cool people.
Thank you all for talking to me and/or writing with me. I'm sorry I'm not great at storybooks and I'm not great at starting or keeping up conversations but ya'll are super cool and sweet and I've enjoyed you all. Some of you were super fun in the Character and Story Interviews Clubs, so thanks to those of you that made that great too! <3
Also thank you to everyone who commissioned me while I was doing commissions!
UhHHhh,, GREAT YEAR YUP YUP GO GO POWER RANGERS
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Last edited by soundofmind on Thu Sep 22, 2022 3:27 am, edited 4 times in total.
So woo. 2016. What a long year. And so much has happened for me. My life has just been a whirlwind this past year. I've gone from teenrager to adult figuring out how to do the adulting stuff, graduated from high school and enrolled into another damn school! Jeez, and I thought I was done haha!! I've moved out of home, and I'm in a much better home environment. Just as I knew I would be when I moved. I've done some awesome drawings, I've done some great writing, I've done nothing with my driving license haha! This time last year I was on the other side of the country with my boyfriend's family.
However, that's just the real world. And the real world doesn't count xD This is where the real stuff happens. This is where the awesome stuff happens. The awesome people, the awesome times. And I'm so very, very glad I'm a part of this wondrous community of authors.
Before I get to the awesome people I've met along the way (not just this year. I'm gonna give you all a shout out because ha!), I'm gonna ramble for a bit.
Storybooks. My favourite tab. Although I haven't done many reviews, and I really wish to do more, I've really gotten active in the SB world. I know I was a little slack last year, and almost disappeared the year before, but I've picked up again throughout 2016. I have this feeling I'm going to end up part of fifteen SB's again in the new year haha xD Anyway, these are my favourites for 2016.
A reboot SB, about a plane full of kids crash landing on an island. And oh my gosh! It was such an amazing, heart wrenching SB! The characters involved were superb! And I got to meet some awesome writers along the way, so that was pretty great ^^ Thankfully, the SB is still going, and it was started in 2015!! That's really good for a SB. Unfortunately, I'm not writing for my characters anymore, but I'm still keeping up with the posts, and they're really good. Still being surprised by the characters, too!! Woo.
This one is actually my SB, and quite possibly one of my most successful ideas. It was the featured SB in an article once, as well. I was so happy to see the influx of participants, and the array of interesting characters. And when the posts came a'flooding, woo!! Found some really amazing people as well, and one of them seems to be in a lot of the SBs I join up to hehehe. I just feel in love with the characters, and though the SB has reached a slow point, the posts have still been fantastic!! I'm so happy and proud to see my SB progress as it has :3
Zombies. Gotta love zombies! And with this SB, there are some really good zombies. With an array of unique characters, and a plot that will shock us all, this riveting SB is bound to be just as awesome as the rest. It's also freshly started, with a whopping 16 characters! The SB has been closed, and if it weren't, I'm sure more people would have wanted to join haha. I mean, why not? It's got a good plot, and looks to be headed in a really good direction. Of course, credit for that goes to Swordsman. Always happy to work with you in an SB, man! This one is gonna be fantastic! Bring on the gore!! Hahaha xD (I'll tone down the evil laughter so I don't scare anyone)
Finally, the SB I'd been anticipating for a very long time, and the reboot of the SB that actually got me into this part of YWS in the first place.
When a volcano in the Yellowstone National Park erupts, spewing ash all over North America, it's survival of the fittest, and hope you don't breathe in the ash particles that can kill you within days. What's not to love about that plot? Now, when I saw this SB was recreated, I turned into a child, all happy and excited, like I was getting a puppy. Embarrassing, I know! But I mean, it's Ashfall! This time I went with a whole new character, and I'm very happy with what I did. Now I'm just waiting anxiously for my turn to post haha. Obviously this is going to be a fun, enjoyable SB. Hopefully we get to see it to the end!
So that's the rambling. And my favourite SB's! Now for the awesome people I've met along the way.
Them super cool persons
(I'm going to be naming those I've been talking to, or interacting with most this past year, and if you feel I should mention you, let me know ^^)
@Ciblio - "A much better romance than Twilight". You're not only a great writer, but you know how to tug at the ol' heart strings. Reading your posts in Indigena were awesome :3
@CookieNinjaBread - "The Egg". Thank you for being such a great friend, even though you won't see this. So I shall kick you. Also, happy 18th Birthday!
@Craz - "I enjoy you". That picture still makes me laugh. Thank you for the amazing SBs, and for just being your wonderful self! I'm very glad to have met you on here, you've been great to work with :3 Keep on being awesome!
@Lau2001 - "Cute little newbie". You were so fun to talk to, and I really look forward to working with you in Zombie Apocalypse. Don't be afraid to have your say, and always be yourself
@Love - "You still owe me a dance!" We haven't been talking as much this year :c However, you are very fun to talk to. I still remember those math lessons you tried to give me haha!! And yes. You owe me a dance. I don't even know how I remember that, but I do. Keep being your awesome, kitty self haha ^.^
@Messenger - "Best chat greetings". I don't actually know if we've really spoken this year,but you're definitely worth a mention ^^ This is because when you message me, your greeting would always make me smile. (Now I feel like I should make a messenger pun ........... don't shoot me please)
@passenger - "Damn it Chris Mahoney!" You are a fantastic writer! I really can't say that enough! You're also great fun to write with! Suave, savvy, charming, you're just awesome :3 And your characters are great. I really hope we get to work together in the future!
@RekoSanctum13 - "Can you really, though?" Again, you're an awesome friend! I don't know if you'll see this either, but thank you for everything, anyway ^^
@Vellichor - "Them smiles I got". You are a treasure :3 Not only are you a great writer, you're also just an all round awesome person ^^ You've made me smile a lot in my SB, too. I'm very glad you enjoy my writing, and I enjoy yours just as much. Stay awesome.
@Wolfical - "Woof Woof". Aww Woof Woof, you're just so grand, so majestic, like a wolf. Haha. You're so much fun to talk to. I honestly would love to have an in depth conversation like the last one, again. It was awesome fun :3
@XxXTheSwordsmanXxX - "Your username, I swear ..." I have a bit of a giggle when I look at the plot of an SB, like it, decide to join, have a look at the characters, and see you're part of the SB as well. You really are great to write with, and I love how you seem to just be everywhere haha. You're awesome to talk to, and plan with, and write with. Looking forward to your cool zombie SB!
Thank you so much for a wonderful year, YWS!! Again, I am so glad to be a part of this amazing community. Or is it a family? Let's go with family.
Basil, out \^o^/
Bye, bye 2016!
Last edited by Basil on Sun Jan 01, 2017 2:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Dorian, are you the one adding all the spices to our food? Of course I am. Why? Because frankly the food here tastes like poorly cooked sawdust. It genuinely tastes how Solas looks.
I guess I'll take a spot, if it's still totally possible. *hidden craziness hides behind polite informal line*
"Is there a limit to how much living I can live with my life? How will I know if I've gone too far? And why did I spend my life savings on sunglasses for a whale? I shall find the answers... to these questions."
I love Koku. He is damn cute and should be the main character and not some lazy old man that supposedly genius but a sucker in his own life. Koku is Koku. Koku is CUTE. ~ B-The Beginning (A Netflix Anime.)
This year certainly has been an interesting and wonderful one! ♡
Despite all of the negative things happening in the world - which I won't mention because I want to focus on positive things in this yearbook comment - this year has been no less than amazing. So many awesome things have happened to me, and I'm grateful for every single one of them. I'll just list some of them below. ^_^
• I decided on the order I'm going to write my books, and have (at the time of this comment) have written up to eleven chapters of my newest novel Broken Magic. • I became more active around the site. • I had my first Cake Day. • I now know that I love writing poetry. • I made lots of new friends both on YWS and away from the screen. • I've realized that I love being a positive, optimistic person, and that makes me incredibly happy!
Thank you everyone who has impacted my life this year, whether it be by becoming my friend, reviewing my works, offering me a shoulder to cry on when I'm having a bad day, taking part in my storybooks or just being someone on the site! ^_^ I love all of you and this site so much, and I'm incredibly grateful for how my time here has impacted my life. ♡
I'm really excited for what the future holds!
Last edited by Mageheart on Wed Dec 28, 2016 3:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Since nobody's really started writing about the year, I suppose that I will.
It's crazy that January until now has been a full year because it feels like so long ago. Back in January I wasn't even writing poetry like I am now, I was still writing stories and prose. That winter and spring I didn't end up really writing a lot that I liked and I got frustrated with that I couldn't seem to write stories as well as poetry--or at least, that I didn't want to admit I liked poetry more. It's weird to think about it. That spring was very tired and I don't remember much of me being on YWS then. I hadn't been in chat for forever but I had a group of friends that I all still love very closely, and that was @ScarlettFire @Kosmos @Lareine and @Omnom who really got me through that time and bridging even into the summer. @Strange and @Hattable were also around and you guys have been real buds, so I appreciate that.
God, summer. That was still so long ago, especially the beginning. I started coming back to YWS in June and that was more of a break month as I just got off school in late May. I played a lot of Pokemon then, I remember @Hattable being around a lot and me talking to him. This was also around the time when I actually started talking to @Gringoamericano who is still one of my best friends on here even though we talk maybe twice a week or so. It was a lot of fun with watching movies and discovering new music then, and Gring helped a lot with that. The memory is blurry but I remember playing a lot of Town of Salem in the cloakroom and that one night I got shocked from an outlet because it was too dark to see. Around June is when I started more heavily pursuing poetry, which is also the time I switched from they/them to she/her pronouns.
I don't like to think about July and early August as much as I tended to get angry very easily and I didn't know why. It was also the highest point for my depression but I finally ended up having an event that changed that and I realized what I was doing. I tended to clash a lot with people in chat and I'm glad I've changed from that now because it was a toxic state. I'm so glad that I've moved on from that, but it took a lot of energy to change my attitude, and that was definitely for the better. I guess it's something that I had to go through to learn. Other than that, I tried doing Camp NaNo in July and failed again (the only time I've ever won is November 2015), and then my more heavy focus on poetry.
August is when I went back to school and it was an awkward time to be alive because it was a big change from the year before but by September it had felt like I'd been there forever. I take August as when I actually kicked off in pursuing poetry and then the months following. I remember doing Poetry Jams with @Audy as the host of them and those were a lot of fun and I cherish those times as something special because they really helped me out.
Fall came and I was still back in summer. For September I did a lot of reviewing because before that, I only had four stars and I have six now, on my way to seven, which is pretty amazing. I became more active on the site then and met people like @Lumi and others who really helped me by reviewing my poetry. I did a lot of reviewing in October as well but that's kind of a blur to me by now, it kind of meshed in with September. I did a lot of experimenting with my writing in October, so that's something. When school started I joined the Writing Group early on and that's something fun that I do once a week or so.
November came. It's not that long ago but it feels pretty distant. November is when I became mod with @Sacredlege and @Megrim, both lovely people; Sacredlege is someone I knew all the way back as ellmist when they joined and I remember thinking Megrim was a mod when I joined for the longest time. It's almost a month since then, it'll be a month on around the 5th or the 6th, I'd have to check to remember. It's been a blast since then and I appreciate it all so so so much. It's weird to make a sappy post about the past year and it's weird to reflect because I'm usually only ever looking forward. It's awkward to turn your head at a 90 degree angle; that's what looking back to the past is like, it'll never be a full 180 degrees. Unless you're an owl.
I hope to spend another year with all of you lovely people.
It's the end of the year, and I decided that I wanted to make one last update since the first time I wrote in here. Not much has actually changed since then, but I am feeling some other things that I may as well share. I don't really know where I would actually be without YWS because it gives me a place for social interaction that I don't usually get elsewhere outside of school, really. I like being in a community and I like writing poetry and everything of that sort but it kind of feels like sometimes I just want to take a break from all of it.
I love doing it, but since September I've gotten into this workaholic attitude that I don't know that I've mentioned yet but I can't really find my way out of it. I keep myself happy by doing work, and if I don't, well, that's the problem. I feel bad if I'm not working or if I'm not doing anything productive and that happens to show up a lot and sure, I'm getting a lot done, but sometimes that feeling hurts. I wanted to get another poem out by the end of today (the 31st) and I feel like with my poetry I try to rush it for certain events or times when I don't really have a deadline for all of this, and that's something I need to realize. It hurts my writing and I've decided that I'm going to let myself post less if I need to, every two weeks is when I want to do that.
I have a lot of ideas that don't actually go out of the first draft stage because I don't feel like they're good enough and I lack a lot of self-confidence when it comes to that sort of thing. I want to explore without the consequences sometimes. Sometimes I feel like posting everything I've ever scribbled onto a document to see what the reaction is. I'm glad that 2016 is over all in all, it's going to be a new year, which means a bit of a new start. Love you all.
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