I can't say how many times I have started this and not finished it for fear of sounding too depressed, or like I was complaining or giving out too much personal information.

I've been going through kind of a rough spot lately, for a lot of reasons I won't go into here. I've been feeling really lost, questioning whether I have what it takes to fulfill my dreams and questioning those dreams themselves. I've also been having a hard time with the simple facts of human nature and cruelty being an innate part of that nature. This isn't the first time this has happened to me -- far from it -- but that doesn't make it easy. Part of the way I have dealt with this is hours of crying on the phone with my mom or boyfriend or alone, which I need. The other part -- which I am a lot more proud of, and also need -- is to take my fears and doubts and channel them positively. Many of my most hopeful poems are from some of my darkest times, but I always first needed some spark to ignite that hope. In this time I have been able to find, and continue to find, hope and joy in every place, and deviantArt has been no exception.

So I would like to express my gratitude to each and every one of you for allowing me to share my hopes and joys, and for being the wonderful people that you are. You have brought me through this not only with your art but with your kindness and openness to me and so many others you may never meet, and with your willingness to fight for what you believe in and against what you believe is unjust.

Thank you.