[Westsparrow]

Ok let's get this straight, 2020 was a crazy year full of weird stuff and more than any of us could handle.
Yes, it was an odd year. But honestly? It was not a bad one.
When I look back at this year, I don’t want to think of it entirely as an awful, horrible dumpsterfire (though some parts of it still were, don’t get me wrong lol). I don't want to call it terrible, I want to want to call it challenging.
To me, 2020 was a year of change in my life (whether good or bad) and the many lessons I learned along the way. It was a year of discovery, and growth, of testing myself and learning new things.

Let’s start off with saying that at the beginning of this year, I was not at my best. To put it fully, I had depression. I was beginning to lose interest in everything I’ve ever loved, I was on the verge of quitting chicken smoothie because there was nothing left for me here, I was on the verge of dropping out of school. Overall I was having a really stressful, dark time and I couldn't do anything and I just wanted a break.
Then I got the break. Not in the best way possible, yes, but I did.
And it was a rough startup and a difficult transition, but then I started down the road, met people, found interests to get invested in again, took up art again and made huge improvements, learned valuable life lessons, discovered things about myself I never knew before, got my creativity back, and by August I was starting to feel much better.
Now, as of December 31st 2020, I’m okay again, and I owe a lot (all of it honestly) to the people, communities, fandoms, youtubers, etc. that made up a major part of my year. If many of these things hadn’t existed, I may have still been in the dark by now and this year would have never been as enjoyable as it really was. So because of that I’d like to thank a few of those things and people who really made an impact in my journey this year:

- To the close friends who stuck with me this entire time when others decided not to (all two of you guys!) and to all the wonderful new people I’ve met through Discord and CS this year! I hope I continue to see you guys around and talk with everyone, you're all amazing people and I'm so grateful I got to know so many new people this year <3
- To the keldines community, for helping to keep me writing and drawing at a time earlier on in the year when I was lost for inspiration and creativity with all your unique prompts as well as introducing me to all the amazing people I never would have met if I hadn’t joined the Discord. Thank you as well for bringing me daily joy during dark times and giving me a reason not to quit cs, because if I'd quit then, I never would have met anyone I know now. I know the species is kind of dead now, but I hope everyone who took part in it knows how much the community helped me. Thank you all <3
- To the Twisted Wonderland fandom, which miraculously came into existence at the time when I had lost interest in everything and desperately needed something new. I met so many awesome people through this fandom and I've had so many fun moments along the way and I still love every bit of it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for existing. My year would have never been the same if Twisted Wonderland had never existed.
- To all of the music that made up my year. To the kpop bands for contiuing to release so much amazing stuff, to everyone for their messages of hope, of happiness, of "bring the pain on" (thanks BTS, love you guys lol). Some song highlights that made up a lot of my year (go listen to them!): BTS - ON, BTS - Louder Than Bombs, Jackson Wang - 100 Ways, Lady Gaga - the entire Chromatica album, Ateez - Inception, Billie Eilish - Everything I Wanted, and many more I may have forgotten. Music, specifically kpop, is a major part of my life and will always be one of the things that keeps me going.
- To many of the webcomics I’ve read on Webtoon as well as their creators for not only fueling my joy with each and every episode release but also for refueling my inspiration and motivating me to improve my art to a point where I finally feel comfortable with it.
- To the BLM movement, which gave me something to root for in a dark time. The "change" that took place this year was not exclusive to myself. There were major changes that happened in the world too and this one was one of the biggest! Seeing everything everyone was and is still doing for it is amazing and the message is so powerful and brought hope to dark times. I've never been a part of something so major before, so it truly was amazing.
- To the animators and artists I've been following and that I've met myself throughout this year, each and every one of you has been so amazing and the fact that all of you still pulled through and continued creating no matter what was one of the things that helped me do so too.
- To the many more out there that I may have forgotten, the list can go on and on if I were to thank absolutely everyone individually. That doesn’t mean you guys are any less important, just that I might reach some sort of text limit if I write about absolutely everyone and everything aksfnskjfn

..
But finally, to the greatest impact.
To Unus Annus!
For not only bringing me daily joy during some of my worst days, but for always brightening my day, for getting me somehow super invested in your plotline, for giving me something to look forward to throughout 2020.
Had Unus Annus not taken place this particular year, I don't think it ever would have had as much of an impact as it did now. So thank you most of all to Mark Fischbach and Ethan Nestor, for helping to teach me the most vital lesson in a year where it mattered most:

Nothing lasts forever, all things come to an end. Make the most of the time you have, because you never know when everything might change. But don’t look at change as a bad thing, it’s only the start of a new chapter. And the end of an old one.


But truly, thank you. Thank you for everything, thank you for a wonderful year. I can’t really see what I’m writing through my tears anymore haha
And may 2021 be the turning point after the change we all wish for <3