hi deviantArt! It has been a long, long time since I have posted and maybe you've noticed that I've pretty much disappeared from this site. I have written journals and updates every few months to say I'd be back "eventually" but never really followed up with anything, so I thought it'd be nice to check back in.

Just to get this out of the way, no I do not think I will be "returning" to dA, nor do I think I'll ever really be active here again. I've just grown apart from this site, as sad as it is. I made this account when I was 12 years old and I'm 19 now.  Up until a year ago, I had been drawing the same cute animals... for 6 years! I am thankful for everyone I've encountered here, all the watchers, the commenters, the commisioners, the friends; my experience here has really been more than I would've ever expected...starting out as a 12 y/o aspiring artist on neopets, I've improved so much and even reached a moderate level of fame (I guess you'd call it ) for which I will be forever grateful!

Last fall I started my first year of college. I was busier than I'd ever been with all my work and didn't have time to draw cute cats anymore. I was (still am) an art major, but the art I created was completely separate from anything I've posted here.  And when I did have time to draw my characters and such, I didn't. Just lost interest. I look back at some of my old art every now and then and can't even believe I drew it! I went in to art college thinking I wanted to be an illustrator of some sort, kind of a continuation and application of the art I was already doing before. After a year of school, my interests and entire view on art has changed. At the moment, I want to get more involved in concept based art that doesn't rely solely on aesthetics or "painting a pretty picture", but I'm sure that'll change many times before I graduate!

That being said, it is making me a little emotional to write this journal. I know this isn't really anything to get choked up about, but this is 7 years of my life; my time on dA has made me the artist I am today. The skills I've learned through the years got me into the dream college and will hopefully take me even further after I graduate. I still have no idea what career I want to eventually have, but I don't see myself ever giving up art completely.

I have had so many great memories on dA. I was constantly inspired, made money for what I loved, and made several lasting friendships. For example, I met ~Youki on neopets and dA when I was 13. We drew together and talked for several hours everyday for years. We still are in contact today and over the past school year, we met up twice when she was visiting colleges, and she even spent a night sleeping on my the floor of my dorm.


So once again, I cannot stress how incredibly thankful I am for this site and everyone who has been a part of my experience here! I'm sure there's tons I've forgotten to write but I hope you get the jist of it. If you're worried about me, yes I do still draw (although not as much atm... also my tablet broke ), I just don't post any art here anymore.

I want to leave on a good note rather than "lol brb eventually". Thankyouthankyouthankyoux1000000! I'll be hanging around for the next few days or stop by every now and then afterwards, so if you have any questions, wanna know what's going on in my life, need advice (pertaining to art, college, or whatever else), or just want to chat since I haven't been here in a while, I encourage you to leave a comment! I missed the people here and would love to catch up before I go on another everlasting haitus

THANKS AGAINNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!

_{also, i'm not doing anymore requests, trades, commissions, etc. incase that wasn't already clear hehe}