The Best Things This Fandom Has Done For Me · 12:08am Nov 9th, 2017
Hey guys!
So, in light of some recent events, I've had a lot of time to reflect on my life and all that it has offered me. I know it sounds cheesy or maybe even over the top, but in no small part, this fandom has hugely influenced the direction of my life over the past few years.
So, given that truth, here is my list of the best things that have happened to me because of this fandom.
1. Breaking My Addictions
So, this one may come as a surprise to you. Back in 2011-2012, I was in a hole in my life. I did a lot of drugs, smoked a lot of weed, slept with a lot of women, drank and engaged in a bunch of other less-than-reputable activities. I wasn't really happy and I tried to find different outlets to deal with life. They were all bad choices.
However, in late 2012, when a particularly bad episode led me to be on house arrest of sorts with my mother for a year, I found out about a little show called My Little Pony. I already knew it existed, but given my circumstances, I had a chance to watch it. I loved it.
Now, I'm not immature enough to say it was the sole reason I broke a lot of my habits and got my mind right, but it definitely helped. It occupied me, gave me something to do, something to be a part of. And that brought me a lot of happiness, more than I had felt in a long while.
2. Meeting My Roommate
Okay, so fast forward to 2014. I was starting to actually become a regular member of the Fimfic community and was active in a lot of groups. One day, someone in the Writer's Group posts a thread asking where people lived. Of course, I was excited to get involved and post my locale, but that was when I saw a post by another user saying he lived in the town just down the road.
At this time, I had never met another Brony in real life. So, of course, I was psyched. We immediately made plans to hang out and that we did. As we talked over a few months, we both realized we were in a similar situation. Living with our mothers, 22 years old and ready to move along and start our own lives. So, we made plans and those plans were executed the following year.
Over the past few years of living together, things have changed, we've changed. But only for the better and now, I see him as the brother I never had. We're not just friends, we're family. And the only reason I have that is that I just so happened to click on a group thread on the right day at the right time.
3. Getting A Great Job Promotion
Now, this one might seem like a bit of a stretch, and maybe it is, but let me explain.
In late 2014, I started working as a manager for a restaurant chain in my area. I've always been a leader and very extroverted, so getting the job was pretty easy, but I felt like I lacked the next level of responsibility and commitment to stand out and earn those promotions and pay raises. However, there were a couple episodes of MLP that actually helped me.
The episode that I remember the most was Fluttershy and Iron will, when even though she thought she lacked the inner strength, she went out and did what she had to do. That impressed me, and before you know it, I called up our Vice President and let him know my aspirations. A couple months later, I was running my own store.
And on a side note, I started bringing my Trixie plushie to work and used her as an unofficial mascot. If that doesn't make you stand out, nothing will.
4. Discovering a Hidden Talent
So, this one is probably the most relevant.
Before Fimfic, I had never bothered writing before. Ever. Outside of school projects and a brief stint where I wrote edge poetry as an early teen, I had never really tried my hand at the written word. So, Fimfic was really my first time not only writing stories but releasing them to be read by others, as well. The results have been pretty good, I'd say.
Now, before you rain down on me, I know I'm not the best. I know there's a lot of obvious cues that I'm still pretty much a noob and the whole thing. But I like to think that I'm fairly competent at writing and I probably would have never discovered it had I not stumbled upon this site one fateful day.
And oh yeah, you can thank this story for that. I googled sweetie belle stories and just stumbled upon it. I wanted to comment but realized I had to make an account first. Thus, my account was born. And just a random fact, I was listening to a band called Famous Last Words when I was in the account creation process. Maybe there's a connection there?
5. LIterally the Best Friends Ever
No shocker here. Never in my wildest dreams, would I have expected to meet some of the best friends in the world through a show about horses.
It all started when I created a Fimfiction account and joined some groups. Before you knew it, people were messaging me. People were adding me on Skype. People were commenting on stories. Then those people started doing group calls with me. Next thing you know we're exchanging phone numbers, going to cons and visiting the most we could.
And of course, now one of them moved across the country to live closer to me (and get better work), another is considering the prospect of doing so and another is just a crazy guy from Oklahoma that I love with all my heart. We're all family and I can't believe it all started with an episode of a show about Rainbow Dash reading a novel with a broken wing.
It's staggering, to say the least. I love you guys and you know who you are.
Okay, so that's my personal list. There are countless other great things that have happened. I've gotten to try my hand at song vocals and music creation hosted panels at cons, moshed with Flutterpriest and Anonpencil... the list goes on. The point is, this fandom has been amazing to me and I'll never stop appreciating the things I've accomplished due to it.
Keep it real, guys.
-Famous
Glad to see that everything turned around in the end for you. Heck, you actually helped me a bit on my writing. (I still suck at it, but I enjoy writing and it's fun to make mistakes and hear what others say)
Glad that you've made it through life with how crappy it was before you started watching the show. Nice to hear you've turned things around for yourself. It's always nice to hear these sort of stories about how MLP: FIM's changed someone's life in some way, little or large. ...Doubt you'll pay attention to this comment, but just wanted to give my thoughts.
4720746
Oh, I pay attention.
Dude, you're awesome, and I'm glad to have talked with you. Here's to even more memories to come.
I've known you for a comparatively smaller slice of time, but I don't regret a moment of it. You're a cool dude, Famous.
your very cool man we have skyped once hopefully we can Skype again
hye man don't talk bad
You've always been a cool dude in my eyes. Glad to see how impactful the fandom can be.
Really glad we got to hang out even if it was only twice. You're awesome.
Great to hear that. Nice to know that this helped make a difference.
Congratulatins man!!
you rock broski. love ya dude
Glad to hear we all helped you out
Wonderful to hear how much of an impact the fandom has made for you.
Keep on being awesome, man.
I’m glad you broke out of your bad habits and returned to the good side of life!
So keep on rockin‘ and continue to wow us with these stories of yours! ☺️
Fimfic has done so much for so many people. I consider everyone here to be family and live by the idea of love and tolerate. This fandom is honestly one of the best things to happen to me, and it makes me happy to see how it has effected people over the course of their lives. Glad to hear about how ponies have made an impact on your life. Imagine how different the world would be if people would at least try watching the show or checking out the fandom once. I was skeptical about it at first, but here I am!
Dude! Your stories are awesome, you're awesome, and I am happy to hear how great your life is going.
Heck as far as writing goes, I think you are in the top tier.
I also love this site and the community - where else could a no talent hack like me pour my heart into writing something, and get 22 likes and a bunch of helpful comments on how to improve. Not one comment on how aweful I was - that's love man!
Here's wishing you all the best, now and onward.
Happy that you’ve managed to be inspired to get your life into a better place! Keep rocking and rolling!