Happy New Year's! You know what that means: it's 2022, and in comes a new year of the earth and Paint. For me, this milestone marks my second year on this site.

It's amazing how much we've changed as a community since I last wrote an annivesary blog. Maybe it's due to my lack of awareness of the current landscape, but there is a certain desolation in the air. Most, if not all, of the previously active members have exited the site, and the only ones rummaging around in this site's ruin are those who recently joined in the last year or so. It may be shocking to say, but it may be that this community will not survive long enough for me to post a third anniversary blog.

I don't want to be a downer, so let me highlight something that is incredible about the human spirit: it continues to grow and adapt, no matter the circumstances. To illustrate this, let me guide you through some of my highlights of the past year:

I experienced a cycle of hope, rejection, dejection, and rebirth. Emotionally, this year was tumultuous, but I am proud to annonce that I am a stronger person because of it.

My personality shifted for the better. I once overcalculated every face-to-face interaction I held with others, but I gradually became more carefree starting from the fall of 2020. Now, personality tests (however accurate they can be!) now list me as a 50/50 split between introvert and extrovert. I feel like that's an improvement from hermiting oneself.

I took the dive to enter higher education. Already in three months, I was able to relearn some of the concepts that I had long forgotten since disgracefully leaving college. I've met new people and became accustomed to a fast-pace life again.

I've joined a nonprofit and used my knowledge of CSS from this site and applied it to a modern website. Surprisingly, a lot carries over. I even earned a position at a local company that I've been wishing for due to my skills and newfound comfidence.

...But of course, that is but a microcosm of this community. I'm just one guy who mopes around here, hoping that maybe somebody will recognize his existence. With the number of people here, the impressions we've made on each other, and the promising futures each one of you hold, I cannot imagine that you will stop growing even if this community ceases to exist.

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It used to be true that I was fearful of uncertain futures. Although it's impossible to fully conquer that fear, I've come to a conclusion that tempers it: even though I cannot see into the future, I can control it by acting in the present. Now, we, too, have an uncertain future ahead of us. It is no matter, however, since the most impactful action we can partake in together is by growing as people, and therefore as a community.

So that is what I wish for, as a user of two years.

Cheers!