Self esteem and Bronydom

[eightbithoof 518]

I have a question for my fellow Bronies out there that will require some small background before I can ask it.

 

Here goes:

I've only recently told anyone that I am of the Herd. Who have I told? Well, anypony and everypony on MLP Forums, actually. This isn't the same as telling my friends and family; I haven't told them, in fact. However, that's beside the point.

 

The point is: Since I've begun drawing again and since I've come here, I feel... good. Much better than I did before; more energized somehow. Some of that is certainly the catharsis of drawing, but I believe that some of it is being here among my fellow Bronies.

 

Now, my question: Has anypony else felt, well, uplifted when they officially joined the Herd?

[just ignore me 86]

I felt pretty uplifted when i joined. Sometimes life isn't always easy weather it be school, family, or just life. When i joined the herd i felt very uplifted first by the show then by the fandom. I don't know about the rest of you but watching adorable cartoon ponies go on magical adventure and learn about friendship always cheers me up. It's pretty hard to be upset or angry after an episode of MLP. Second the fandom is comprised of what would seem to be the nicest friendliest people on the internet. You can be yourself here and not be mocked or shunned for just about anything. So id say that feeling uplifted after joining the herd is quite a normal feeling that most bronies probably have.

[IronPuddinG 249]

At first, I did feel happy, energized, etc.  Being in this fandom for a while, though, hasn't actually brought me anything.  My self esteem isn't necessarily low, I just feel emotionally dead.  I HAVE been enjoying my 'broniness', so to speak, but I can't say that I've benefitted from it in the long run.

Then again, I haven't watched a non-new episode in so long.  Maybe that's contributing to it.

Don't let this tiny little bit of negativity bring the whole thread down though.  :S

[Scootalove 10,684]

Well, to me when I joined the herd it lifted the dark cloud that was hanging over my head. It gave me a lot of friends,  and even though school has been draining my smile and happiness. I can still smile when I'm with the fandom.  I say, don't let negative people get to you.

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,090]

Yes, very much so. I'm far more happier and way more understanding ever since I started watching the show and participating in the fandom. I would like to say it isn't just because the show is awesome, which it is, but also that it just raises my spirits in general and gives me a far more positive outlook on things than before. Most of all, it's made me a lot more tolerant towards groups of people that I used to just brush off as weird or strange.

 

Overall, I'd say yes, entering into Bronydom, as you called it, has improved my self-esteem, self-image, and much more.

[NeverAgain653289he32 285]

I was a totally different person before I joined the herd and I don't like how I was. I became happy, it brought me a bunch of friends, made me come out of my shell and a lot of people in my school think I'm the funniest person in the grade. It also increased my grades as well. Overall I am satisfied with my time in the herd

[errant 14]

I think the lighter/softer influences of MLP help curb my normal dark, cynical, pessimistic personality. It helps to make me a nicer person overall by serving as a counterbalance to the side of me that is, um, not very nice. 

[ReGen 1,466]

Well, to me when I joined the herd it lifted the dark cloud that was hanging over my head. It gave me a lot of friends,  and even though school has been draining my smile and happiness. I can still smile when I'm with the fandom.  I say, don't let negative people get to you.

 

Pretty much this. I've been a lot more confident in myself since I joined. I have made a ton of new friends, so even though I barely have any friends in school, I can always find someone to relate to here.

[NightOwl 911]

Yep, I have been a LOT happier ever since I joined the herd. What I love about this fandom is that's it's so creative, friendly and inspiring .

[~Starlight~ 764]

Yes! I feel like I am surrounded with people I can trust on the internet, and that is very unlikely in the world of the internet, but whenever I talk about ponies it makes me feel, nice!

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

When I did join yes major emotional change.  Though that has dwindled a little in the past few months.  School may be to blame though.

[Thunderchild 875]

I have found the whole experience of being part of 'the herd' to be positive. I have been posting on discussion boards for many years and have had more pleasant interactions here than probably the whole of the rest of them combined.

 

The show is positive and based around friendship and a good message-so it is with the fandom. 

[~Silver Essence~ 2,621]

This fandom has brought me more happiness of what I never fought I would ever have.

I used to be slightly serious and depressed all the time, but now, I feel happy and not too serious than what I used to be.

This fandom will be a happy one to remember when I look back!

[Phoenix237 353]

I felt more happier then I was before

I didn't have much going on and didn't have anyone to talk to.

When I joined the fandom I started meeting new people and started to feel better about myself

I have made friends thanks to this fandom and that's made my life better.

[MrHaru 217]

Going to be completely honest: being welcomed into this fandom feels a lot more like joining a dysfunctional but caring family than simply being a part of a fandom. Most of the time when you're inserted into any big fandoms you're usually met with a lot of clashing opinions and loads of animosity because of differentiating opinions. Most of the time you may have some trouble coming to terms with agreeing or dealing with a lot of people. Being a Brony definitely means also dealing with a lot of crass people too.

 

 

...but it's...different here.

 

Being a Brony I feel like I want to get to know as many people as possible and I usually catch myself wanting to second-guess my own kneejerk responses to people for the sake of being nicer; possibly trying to work on the 'love and tolerate' mantra as much as possible.

 

I feel more open to discuss things about the very fandom I enjoy within THIS fandom specifically because of the general 'do good' nature of the fandom.

 

Being a Brony's basically helped me feel a lot better about life and myself, so I hope (now that I've come back from a small disappearance on the forums here. ><; ) to get some more out of it.

[Broccoli 127]

When I came to this fandom, I realized that there were so many guys like me who also like the show. That makes me happy. My self esteem hasn't really changed, and I never really had a self esteem problem. However MLP has brought more joy and colors to my life. It's like Pinkie at the rock farm, and suddenly a rainbow appears...

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,306]

This show and to a bit of a lesser extent the fandom has made me feel better overall than what I did before, but due to many self conflicts and depression, I cannot say my self esteem has drastically improved. Sure, it is probably a bit better now, I have more confidence in myself than what I have had in years, but that really is not saying much.

 

An easy summary would be this: I may still be worthless overall, but at least life doesn't look as bleak and hopeless as it did before. It still is quite bleak and hopeless for me, but I suppose just a bit less now. With such a fantastic show like this, there has to be some type of light somewhere.

[Hazel-Beam 88]

It's brought out my creative side and inspired me to make more art, that's for sure. And it's nice that this fandom has an unspoken "Love and Tolerate" mantra that everyone tries to stick by during conversations with other people - and even other bronies - who are being obnoxious. We're a funny little fandom but I like being part of it.

[Treble Bolt 1,122]

Being a non-typical female joining the fandom, I have felt ostracized by male fans just because I am a girl.  I feel like I have to fight just to be included in what being a "brony" is, and I do this not just because I want to belong, but also because I don't want to be pooled in with other females who fall into typical female stereotypes to which I do not follow.  I enjoy being female, but I hate it when people take typical feminine stereotypes (such as being weak and such) and apply them to me (to which they get their butts whooped).  I feel like an oddball out in this, and upon rereading this, I am not sure I make sense (when do I?).  

 

Other than my husband, I have a pretty lonely life.  I am over 200 miles away from "home" and I have grown out of my high school friends who have all chosen lives that only cause themselves pain to which I do not want to be a part of.  I have no family (other than my husband and his parents).  And I live in a town where my husband and I are the youngest couple there (the second youngest are in their mid 30's with kids and most of the town house elderly people) so we do not have people to relate to or connect with.  Other than my feminine struggle with the fandom, it is a relaxing place, where I can teach others, learn from others, and just the world in a better light by participating in the brony world.  It's almost like a family, a bit of a dysfunctional family (no one's perfect) but that also gives this fandom a chance to have never a dull moment (especially waiting for season 4).  Being able to connect with complete strangers online over technicolor ponies that bring us all a sense of harmony with people we may or may not know is a pretty amazing thing to say the least. 

[Freewave 1,145]

The shwo and the communiuty have given me some additional purpose and made my off-work schedule a LOT busier. Also gained a few close friends from the community. I'm still not a lot better about having a lot of aquaitances or feeling perfectly at ease within the community do to being one of the older crowd but i'm still glad i'm here. I think a lot of us feel like we were lost before mlp but found each other through this fanbase.