Continuing on with my life...(MFF, skiing, etc)
tl;dr mff is a no-go, I need to focus on life-goals
I have, for as long as I can recall, loved skiing. It's my single greatest passion. It supersedes art, furry, and yes, even sex. Now, having moved to the west, I have the chance to chase my dream of going pro on skis. It's going to take a lot of work, and probably a good deal of money. This means I need to be more lean with my cash than ever before if I want to make it all work out, and that means I need to cut down on other things.
One big decision, and one I didn't make easily, is that I cannot make MFF this year. I want to see everyone badly, and I want to hang out and party and have a grand old time at the awesome new hotel, but considering the expenditures I will need to make to get myself back in the saddle for racing, unless I find a job (something I want to avoid due to the fact that it will be hard to do photography for school, ski training, and homework in general on top of a job), there really is no way I will be making it. I hope to get back next year, perhaps, but there is no way of knowing for sure if I will have the funds necessary then either.
So, short of a miracle, I wont be back in the midwest for the furfest.
How this will all pan out is unknown. How much it will affect me in relation to the fandom, I don't know. The fandom is a part of my life, and that will never change. Furry forever, you know? Thing is, I might not make it to as many cons. I might not be online as much. I just have no way of knowing. Furry is something that took the forefront when my parents, father primarily, discouraged me from dreaming big. I lost a lot of self confidence and ambition as a teen, stuff that I am discovering that I have. Being strong and confident are traits I have, but they've been so buried, I'm still discovering how to bring them to the forefront. It's weird, and I feel like I am fumbling. Oh well, I hope I figure it out.
Thing is, furry became my pastime. It began to replace a real dream. I lived in a fantasy world, and in many ways, I still do. I don't live a normal life, not by a long shot. Of course, I wouldn't trade my friends for the world, but few things will deter me from my passions. Skiing is my world, not furry, though they ride closely. Furries saved me from a lot of unhappiness. The wonderfully strange world of the fandom is just too awesome to let slip away completely. If by some miracle I get on the world ski circuit, you can bet you'll find a paw somewhere on my gear.
It is entirely possible that I will fail, but life is full of surprises. I hope that I can still chase after my passion, though in doing so, I still hope to keep my friends. I think it will be tough, but thank god for the internet. Everyone who has been in my life who I consider a friend to this day has put wind in my sails when things seemed hopeless, and sun in my sky, even on the darkest days. If I drop off the face of the earth for a while someday down the road, I promise I will never forget the joy and wisdom people have given me throughout the years.
So, here is to hoping the future can hold something fun, some adventure, some skiing, and some furry. It's a lot to try to cram your life full, but the work is worth it. After all, a simple year in life is an empty year; a wasted time that you can never, ever get back. I plan to do as much as I can until the end, and this step is just the beginning. Unfortunately it's one that involves cutting out a trip. I just hope, in the long run, that it will have been worth it. If not...
feel free to give me shit about it ;3
~Niko
I have, for as long as I can recall, loved skiing. It's my single greatest passion. It supersedes art, furry, and yes, even sex. Now, having moved to the west, I have the chance to chase my dream of going pro on skis. It's going to take a lot of work, and probably a good deal of money. This means I need to be more lean with my cash than ever before if I want to make it all work out, and that means I need to cut down on other things.
One big decision, and one I didn't make easily, is that I cannot make MFF this year. I want to see everyone badly, and I want to hang out and party and have a grand old time at the awesome new hotel, but considering the expenditures I will need to make to get myself back in the saddle for racing, unless I find a job (something I want to avoid due to the fact that it will be hard to do photography for school, ski training, and homework in general on top of a job), there really is no way I will be making it. I hope to get back next year, perhaps, but there is no way of knowing for sure if I will have the funds necessary then either.
So, short of a miracle, I wont be back in the midwest for the furfest.
How this will all pan out is unknown. How much it will affect me in relation to the fandom, I don't know. The fandom is a part of my life, and that will never change. Furry forever, you know? Thing is, I might not make it to as many cons. I might not be online as much. I just have no way of knowing. Furry is something that took the forefront when my parents, father primarily, discouraged me from dreaming big. I lost a lot of self confidence and ambition as a teen, stuff that I am discovering that I have. Being strong and confident are traits I have, but they've been so buried, I'm still discovering how to bring them to the forefront. It's weird, and I feel like I am fumbling. Oh well, I hope I figure it out.
Thing is, furry became my pastime. It began to replace a real dream. I lived in a fantasy world, and in many ways, I still do. I don't live a normal life, not by a long shot. Of course, I wouldn't trade my friends for the world, but few things will deter me from my passions. Skiing is my world, not furry, though they ride closely. Furries saved me from a lot of unhappiness. The wonderfully strange world of the fandom is just too awesome to let slip away completely. If by some miracle I get on the world ski circuit, you can bet you'll find a paw somewhere on my gear.
It is entirely possible that I will fail, but life is full of surprises. I hope that I can still chase after my passion, though in doing so, I still hope to keep my friends. I think it will be tough, but thank god for the internet. Everyone who has been in my life who I consider a friend to this day has put wind in my sails when things seemed hopeless, and sun in my sky, even on the darkest days. If I drop off the face of the earth for a while someday down the road, I promise I will never forget the joy and wisdom people have given me throughout the years.
So, here is to hoping the future can hold something fun, some adventure, some skiing, and some furry. It's a lot to try to cram your life full, but the work is worth it. After all, a simple year in life is an empty year; a wasted time that you can never, ever get back. I plan to do as much as I can until the end, and this step is just the beginning. Unfortunately it's one that involves cutting out a trip. I just hope, in the long run, that it will have been worth it. If not...
feel free to give me shit about it ;3
~Niko