I have no idea what to title this, it's weird lol

Hi everyone! It's been a while and I wanted to explain why I had to take so much time away during this year. ;w; I'm back now, but some really terrible things happened in my life and I had no choice, I had to take a long break from writing and drawing for almost like 6 months. And I thought I should probably explain...

I'm being deliberately vague to respect their privacy, but someone very close to me had to be rushed to the emergency room and had to have an emergency surgery and stay in the hospital for several weeks. Some of you already know more about it but this is basically to catch up those who had no idea about any of this. It took him a long time to recover from everything, he's still only just barely getting back to normal, and I had to take care of him and change his bandages twice a day, plus fill in for him at his job so we could keep things managed until his wounds healed, despite how hard it was to do all of that with my own medical problems too. In the meantime, all of the bills got way behind. It was a nonstop struggle and it was one of the hardest times in my life, but still far from the worst thing I've been through (which is kinda sad if you think about it, hence why I prefer not to think on that too much, lol). We really had no help from anyone during all of it, so that made it even harder. The hardest part of all of it was watching someone I care about go through such a terrible ordeal though. This was back in late June or early July when all this happened but we've continued to have nonstop problems from it. I've been so busy and exhausted all the time, this is why it took so long for me to even get a chance to write up a journal about it. But I am just glad he made it and didn't die, because it came very close during that ordeal... Really makes you appreciate the little things that much more. 

I do want to thank my wonderful friends and clients who commissioned me during that time, because it really helped a lot (during those first couple of weeks after the surgery especially, I would have literally starved if not for that, so it means a lot). ♥ I didn't know that was going to happen when it did and I am truly sorry for any delays. I know I got through over half of my list so far, and I should have everything else caught up soon.

That being said, I was extremely happy to come back to such a pleasant surprise when I discovered that DA now has a new blocking feature! All I can say is... It's about time. The way the blocking was before was absolutely horrible. Even if you blocked someone they would still be able to stalk your account and see all of your work, journals, art, pictures, comments, conversations, etc. I've been fighting (along with others) for many years to finally get this changed. I know there was a point when I had to send in tickets about it almost weekly, which was ridiculous, but necessary. I was sick of being stalked and harassed by certain people (some of whom I have had to go so far as to get actual restraining orders for, which is just lovely as you can imagine, and even worse when a website that I make a good portion of my income from violates the terms of it by allowing them to harass me further) and now it's just really comforting to know that they can't keep coming on my account to see every little thing I say and do. It's none of their business anyway and I feel that certain people don't really deserve to even be able to look at my art after everything they've done. I almost left DA altogether because of this. I found it horribly crippling and stifling, in what used to be a fun place for me. I'm so thankful for the new update! What else can I say? I love it. Now I don't have to be scared or worry as much anymore. It's really great to feel like I have the freedom to be myself once again and hopefully have some peace, at long last.

There are a few things about it that I think could still be better, such as blocking comments that you leave on other people's work from their view as well. With the help of a friend, I have tested this, and sadly yes, someone you have blocked can still see your comments to others. But at least they can't see what you say and do on your own page or view any of your artwork anymore, so that part is at least satisfying. It's still a lot better than before.

Sorry if I've been out of touch with everyone, a ton of things have happened and my whole world pretty much changed, and my life is very hectic these days. ;w; I miss you all though. I'm very excited to be back and gradually feeling my inspiration coming back to me. I can't wait to look at everyone's beautiful art and literature too, I'm excited! I'm still just barely getting over a terrible case of writing and art block that has gone on for a long time. I was depressed for a while but now I am slowly and gradually starting to feel more like my old self again. ^_^ It's been a constant struggle this year, but at least things are finally starting to look up again. If things would calm down for a bit and my anxiety would lessen, then I could get back to working on things more seriously. I plan to go in a different direction and take a new approach to things this time around.

Happy holidays everyone! Let's hope 2018 will be kind to all of us. ♥


-Kaline ♥