A couple of weeks ago, I had a sudden influx of followers, favorites, and comments. At first I was a little overwhelmed, not going to lie, because I went from having barely over 200 followers on DeviantArt to almost 1,000. Holy cow.

But I joined DeviantArt (and Tapas) because I needed a social outlet. My general and social anxiety makes it difficult to meet and form connections with people IRL, but for some reason having a screen separating me and whomever I'm communicating with has made meeting people less scary. I have my theories about why this is (among them are the predictable exposure therapy, the shield of anonymity--more or less--and that I can think on my next words carefully without feeling the pressure of face-to-face interaction) but all and all coming out of my lurker closet and beginning to upload art and Lost Souls online has been one of the best decisions I've made as of late.

I read every comment made, and while I try to respond to every single one, there gets a point where I feel like the person receiving the reply will think that I'm just being polite. So then I chicken out and go a little quiet for a while.

But I want you all to know that I'm very, very grateful for all the love that you have shown me and my little brain children. When I say "thank you," I well and truly mean it--even if it may be something I say to everyone. I want to be the kind of person who presents herself as someone who is kind and easy to talk to, and to foster a safe and open space to share my art and ideas.

Thank you guys so much for coming along with me on my artistic journey--we aren't going to stop anytime soon, so I hope you'll be able to enjoy the ride!