(Warning: this is a very personal message.)

I don't really know why I'm writing this...but here goes. This is kind of a personal message; something I've never really told any of you before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G6SR0TYlWw

I was listening to this beautiful song by MandoPony, and it had struck a chord with me...but I really didn't know why.

Then just now, about a minute ago, it clicked.

Before I became a brony I was going from fandom to fandom, from place to place and activity to activity, wandering all over the internet. First I was an avid fan of 'Youtube Poops' and that group, and then I discovered the Earthbound games and I really got into those. I was starting to make a couple fan projects, but then I went to find the others to share the fun with...but there were no others. After that I got into Minecraft, whose fans are far too spread out to ever form a community.

I have always had a nagging thought in the back of my head while enjoying the pure happiness of the brony family. You do realize this won't last, right? Someday you're going to have to leave it behind...and none of them will remember you. They won't even care. That thought has been eating away at me from the back of my mind...and it took this song to make me confront it. I began to remember some of the incredible times I've shared with all of you, my friends, and realized how much better they have been than any other experience in my life.

From the best night of my life, November 10th when I watched the Season 3 livestream and shared that experience with you all, to discovering my passions--writing stories and music, the beauty of the night and stars, to more recent experiences, this family has brought my life purpose.

I'm going to call out a few people specifically (although I love all of you) who I feel like have seriously shown me that I really do matter, and really have shown me that this is my home- @KyrasSoup and I were hanging out in a livestream during Season 3, and he decided to join the forums just so we could hang out some more. It doesn't seem like he's been here since then, but it still meant a lot that he considered us close friends after only a night of knowing each other. @Sketch had commented on my status after returning to the forums when I had not been able to go online for a few nights, saying how happy he was that I was back, implying that he actually missed me. @Arkane talks to me every night over Skype, and I feel like we've kind of become best friends. I bet that if i left the fandom tomorrow and turned my back on everyone, he would probably miss me most. Both and specifically called me out as "What made them smile today"...which is ironic, because what I had posted in that thread was referring again to Dawn Rider (highlight the text in my first post in the What Made You Smile thread.), who...I really can't explain it. For some reason his awesomeness just makes me smile, and the fact that the effect's mutual had a profound effect on me.

So now, looking into the future, I hope that I never discover anything to replace MLP, like Minecraft had murdered my interest in Earthbound and MLP had brought me out of the deep depression Minecraft had caused me. I hope that I can stay with you all forever, because I know that this......is my home. This is somewhere that someone--many someones, undoubtedly including people that I've forgotten to mention--might miss me if I leave, might actually care about me.

Thank you to everyone, those that I mentioned and those that I didn't, for showing me that I matter to you, and helping me find my home in this world of facelessness.

I love you all.

Till I found you.

Till I found my friends.

And now I've come to hope

This is where my journey ends......