In my many years on this site, I have often seen blogs celebrating how many years a member has been present in this community and thanking everyone for sharing in this portion of their life. I've never made any of those blogs myself. Until now. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for it. They are some of my favorite blogs to read and I love seeing how this community continues to build up people in their time here. But I never really wanted to write one myself. For two reasons. One, I don't like the idea of putting myself in any sort of spotlight. It feels weird to release a blog talking about myself. And two, June seventh (the day of my account creation), just happens to be the busiest day of the year every year. Seriously. School gets out, there's a family birthday, my class has an annual party, plans are being made for summer.. you get the picture. It's not exactly a day I can just relax and find time to write about this community and what it's meant to me. And yet, June seventh is the perfect day to use as an example of what this place means to me.
Five years ago, I stumbled across a small site on my old 3ds. The day was not June seventh. I cannot recall what the day was or if it had any significance, but the day is lost, just like the account I made on that day. I did not originally come to this site as Siling-La. Being a quite foolish person, I joined this site using my full name, first and last, as my username. I deactivated that account as soon as I realized that a twelve year-old shouldn't be putting their full name out there on the internet on small little-known sites. I created a second account not long after. Using it to chat with random people in chatroom Luigi and Yoshi, I made friends with anyone who would be willing to have a conversation. Most, if not all of those members have disappeared. Deactivated or moved on. My parents found out about my presence on this site and I deactivated my second account about four and a half years ago.
So, what happened on June seventh? Where did Siling-La come from?
On June seventh of 2019, I searched for a light. My life until that point had been plagued with darkness. You can find that darkness in my earliest songs and poems here and in some of my stories where I talk about it. But the darkness on that particular day was thick. I was ready to end my life. In my desperation, I made one last attempt to reach out to someone. Anyone. Even if they lived halfway across the world and were laying awake at night typing with a stylus on an outmoded gaming console. The details of that night are surprisingly hard to remember, but I do remember meeting two people in particular who helped bring me a little bit of light. One was an admin who was always ready and willing to help whenever he was needed. He has not logged on to this site for over a year now. The other was just a new member like me. One that has recently become an admin and the member that has been my friend for these last four years: Draconid_Jo. Thank you for continuing to be a light in my life even to this day.
Those two members lifted me out of the hole I was in and showed me that there was still light. I stayed on this site, chatting many days and nights away in the days when chatrooms were almost always active and a handful of new blogs would be released daily. It was a good time. Members back then would tell me that Paint used to be more active than even that, but what I'd give to see this place bustling like that again.
Before long, I tried my hand at writing poetic blogs. I had seen others doing it and I had always loved poetry and songs, so I decided to take the risk of putting my work into the public eye to be judged. The response I got was more positive than I imagined was possible. It inspired me to write more and more and more.
I started to release song lyric blogs. Poetry that I created my own mental melodies for. Some of the songs I wrote during that time, although flawed, are still some of my favorite. The tunes still rest in my heart and I have nearly all of the lyrics memorized from them even though I haven't actually read them for a long while. But it wasn't just for me. I was able to share my lyrics with others using blogs. I was able to encourage others, share my faith with others, relate to others, and have others help me improve as I continued writing.
Sometimes I look back on that time and laugh. I never would have guessed back then that four years later, I'd be sitting here typing this blog. I didn't realize it, but I had found a passion for music and songwriting that I never discovered until I joined this site. Now, all these years later, I now have both the ability and skills required to record and produce my own music. Since then, I have learned to play five instruments well, purchased equipment to help me record studio-grade tracks, taught myself how to effectively use DAWs and many VSTs, enrolled in college courses that have improved my musical abilities, and have played in over three different bands and a choir. And I have loved every frustrating, challenging, rewarding step of this road so far. I took the first few steps here before I even saw the path. And it's all thanks to you guys.
That June seventh, as crazy and dark as it was, became one of the brightest days of my life because of you. That's why it's the perfect example.
This community lifted me up during my darkest times and has helped shape me into the man I am today. Though I've seen dozens and dozens of members come and go, this place remains a beacon in the darkness. You may not have been there four years ago like Draconid_Jo, but even if you've only been here for half a year, you still have probably made an impact on my life. From the bottom of my heart, I wish to thank all of you for your support and friendship over these years. There is no way to possibly express my gratitude for you. Time is flying and I will soon be eighteen. I've come a long way from that twelve year-old boy entering a chat room for the first time. I'm busier than ever, I have more responsibilities, I have intentional direction in my education, and with all that comes less time to hang around and chat. I will always love this place. I will always love this community. Even if I can no longer find time for it.
But I still have time for it today and I hope I will continue to for a long while more. I hope you will continue to share it with me.
So there it is, the last five years of my life in a nutshell and a small expression of my gratitude to you for supporting me. Thank you for taking the time to read all this. I hope you remember what you are truly a part of as you are on this site and that what you do here really affects the lives of others. It has affected my own life in a great way. I hope I can continue to invest in your lives as well.
Continue being a light. God bless all of you.
Your friend,
Siling-La
Just a small display of my logo's history. For an explanation/backstory of each, visit this profile page of mine.
Wow, I never realized how much of an impact our friendship had on your life. (I can certainly say that it had a HUGE impact on mine, as well.)
It seems as though both of us were in a pretty dark places in our lives when we first created our accounts here, and thanks to God's small miracle of us both being able to find this wonderful little website on our 3DS/2DS, He not only saved our lives (and in my case my soul), but also helped us to forge a friendship that will last for the rest of our lives. (At least, I'm fairly certain that it will.)
God bless you, and I hope that you have a bright music career ahead of you!
By @Siling-La
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Draconid_Jo
