lyrabetes3939

I wasn't able to do a special drawing to mark the occasion, but I can still post a status update about it.

The day was May 27, 2017. I was 14 years old, and 8th grade had been a somewhat difficult year for me for various reasons. I was sitting in my room on this Saturday night, not really doing much, when for some reason I thought of MLP. I'd known about the existence of an MLP fandom for a couple years, but had never watched the show myself. It seemed cute but also a bit too girly for my liking. However, since I wasn't sure what else to do, I decided to look up the first episode and see it for myself.

I watched the first episode in fragments on YouTube, since I couldn't find it anywhere else. It somewhat intrigued me, so I watched the second episode as well. Then the third episode, and then the fourth. Before long, I was hooked on the show, and I had selected Fluttershy as my favorite pony.

I kept my interest of MLP secret from my parents for about a month, but on June 30 I finally told them. They thought it was weird at first, but gradually came to accept it. A week later I ordered a Fluttershy plushie on Amazon, because I'd developed quite a crush on her while watching Seasons 1 & 2. She'd become the waifu I didn't think I would ever have.

Over the summer of 2017, I binge-watched the first 6 seasons of MLP, and watched season 7 in the fall. I watched all four Equestria Girls movies in December, and the MLP movie in January 2018. I'd also created a character to represent me in pony form. His name, of course, was Sky Scraper, and I shipped him with Fluttershy.

Enjoying MLP by myself was all fine and good, but I eventually wanted to bond with others over it. I knew about the existence of this forum, but I was hesitant to join because I was worried that others wouldn't like me or think I was too immature. During the spring of 2018, I tried to write an Equestria Girls story about Sky Scraper and Fluttershy, but struggled mightily with it and eventually gave up. So on July 25, I bit the bullet and joined these very forums, with the username shyabetes3939. I wasn't expecting a lot, but I figured that maybe I could at least get some writing advice.

My first day on the forums greatly exceeded expectations. @Rikifive warmly welcomed me to the herd, and by the end of the day @Sherbie-kun ⚡⚡ and I were talking like old friends. Over the remainder of the summer, I met many more friends such as @Mellow Mane 🍀 @Tacodidra @DivineKnight1000 and @Twilight Luna. All of my great friends on the forums made 2018 a much better year than 2017.

In January 2019, Lyra overtook Fluttershy and became my new waifu. To reflect that, I changed my username to lyrabetes3939. I've said before that 2019 was by far the best year of my life, and a lot of that is thanks to all the friends I've made on the forums. When I first joined I was insecure about many things, both MLP-related and not, but by the time 2019 began I had become fully integrated into the community. I really grew up over the course of 2019, and I must thank MLP and all of my friends here.

The show came to an end just two years after I started watching it, but I didn't enjoy the last two seasons of it anyway. Seasons 8 & 9 didn't feel like the same show as 1-7, and I had no interest in them.

So here I am now, exactly three years to the day I watched the first episode of MLP on a completely random whim. If I hadn't gotten into MLP, who knows what kind of person I'd be now. Merry bronyversary to me, and if you're my friend reading this, a heartfelt "thank you" to you.