Alrighty, so I don't really know how to start this, but I'm sort of thinking about leaving. Like, not entirely— I might just sort of lurk here every once in a while and stuff— but don't think I'll be nearly as active. I started going on this website over 3 years ago. When I did, I was just a middle schooler who, like many, didn't know what I wanted to do with myself. Scratch provided something to do at the time and it was a way for my immature self to feel a sense of validity. Now that I'm older, though, I've realized I don't really need to use Scratch anymore. I have an instagram account now that I can use if I want to share my art or view the art of others, and I've realized most of my activity here now is done out of a sense of obligation, rather than actual interest. I told myself a while ago that I would stay here as long as I could and fade away slowly as a way of leaving without upsetting anyone. What I'm realizing now, though, is that it's better to give someone proper closure than false hope, and that people will be upset either way. The main difference is that seeing someone say goodbye gives more immediate and easier to recognize feelings, while improper closure causes the feelings to build up more slowly and annoyingly. I'd rather someone see this and think "Man, I don't want this person to move on, but I'll eventually accept it" than "Geez, this person hasn't posted in a while. Are they gone? Will they ever come back? This confuses and upsets me." Also, I want people to know that despite leaving, I don't really have anything against this site. There are some really good artists here (which I'll link at the end), and I don't really think the community is as bad as some people make it out to be. This website is aimed mainly at people between the ages of 10 and 14, so I think it's a bit silly when people complain about immaturity and things like that. The thing for me, though, is that making work just for the people here won't get me a job or anything, and being here takes away time for me to do things that will benefit me in the future. That, plus the amount of time I spend consuming things on this site takes away from time I could use to be more productive. So, yeah. That's the main reason why I'm leaving. I've been thinking about it a bit for a while, but I think taking that small break I just took helped me clear up my mind. So long and thanks for all the fish! ------ Here's the list of neat people you can follow instead of me in no particular order: The amount of activity between the people I listed varies, but it's still higher than the amount I'm planning to have, so that's something. If you still want to see my art, my instagram username is the same as it is here. ------ The music is "Goodnight Ladies" by Lou Reed. I figured I'd end with one of my favourite musicians, and this song was more fitting then anything else I could think of.
