Ever since I started watching this show, I've found myself sticking up for people against bullies and whatnot. It's helped with my self-confidence basically. I mean, I was never shy or anything, but just being more pro-active
Friendship is something I've always longed for, but unfortunately my reservations about who is worth friending are plenty and I cannot seem to connect as readily, possibly because of my fear of failure. I've had many shallow, insincere friendships (that are enjoyable probably once and) that never last. People have learned to take advantage of me at times... Friend me to copy off homework, to display superficial kindness, etc. I used to very readily trust people, so that hardened me to even friendly contact. My mom told me I was naive, and that hurt my feelings a lot but I get her now... She just wanted the best for me. Then there are those people who never talk to you and forget you: the "casual acquaintances", like those people on Facebook you never talk to and in turn, aren't really your friends because you never talk to them. Then when you do need someone to contact, they don't even remember you (of course, I would never ask those people for help in any case). The there are those you know because of proximity, but still drift off because of any reason whatsoever. I have met many people, but even then, I don't have many friends, probably because I'm shy and very solitary in general. People keep saying that I need to get out more. My parents think I might be depressed. While I don't deny the possibility, my social "deficit", if you will, has become more bothersome after I moved out of my parents' house. It's lonely living out by yourself... Maybe I should stop listening to new age piano and watching sunsets. Those things are beautiful but depress me sometimes. Nonetheless, when I do think of friends, the true friends I have whom I love dearly. Apart from my parents and sisters, these people are the the ones I can always talk about anything and they would listen given they had time (I don't like bothering people). Only one remains in close proximity and I enjoy every second I spend with her and I am very thankful. MLP:FiM has also made me appreciate the friends whom I value and who value and encourage me. And of course, FiM has taught me something about self acceptance and of course, acceptance of the unusual, strange, or whatever. Before watching the show myself, I looked at the show as one of those badly-made cartoons for very young female audiences that I should avoid at all costs. I did avoid the show... I guess I was a very inflexible person back then... Maybe just slightly afraid of the unknown and definitely afraid of what people thought of me. I thought most people readily judged others, and ironically I was actually one of the judges. My dad kept on saying to me "be more flexible," citing my general inflexibility when it comes to time frames and feelings I have towards everything. I guess he's right, too. Dang. My parents are wise, and I miss them, even though It's been less than a month. I'm tearing up now. I guess I'm homesick, but I told them I wasn't. Well, back on topic: Self acceptance was clearly out of my grasp for a while. When I started liking the show, I was in the process of getting my head clear with regard to another issue. When I first watched FiM, I was in denial: how can this show be so great?! I won't tell everything about me yet, but you may just hear it slip out later... And please don't make any assumptions. I hate assumptions because they oftentimes turn out wrong and even hurtful. It wasn't until I saw the first episode myself that I found the show to be something of great value to me, and perhaps everyone. MLP:FiM has shown me that making friends is important. The fandom has taught me to try new things and value others' opinions, and not to be so judgemental. Overall, I've learned to be myself, because true friends are those who accept you for who you are. Even though I'm not as social as them they still take time to be friends with me. And I will never forget those people who are my true friends. Sorry about the long post, everypony.
I'm pretty sure I haven't posted in here, but yes, definitely. Before My Little Pony came along, I wasn't depressed in the traditional sense, but I was in the sense that I could not have any motivation to do anything at all. Afterwards I had some motivation, but recently I've had more and more. And despite what I said a few lines ago, I wasn't exactly happy either. MLP has given me something to look forward to every day, something to wake up for. When people rag on bronies on other websites because it's "just a show," this is one of the only times I get offended. Because for me, if it were just a show, then I would just watch it, end of story. But it's not. For me MLP helps me be a better person, and I eat, breathe and sleep ponies. But yeah, this show is 90 percent of my life, and all I had before was 10 percent and a big hole.
Well, I'm not the kind of brony to raise the show on a pedestal and proclaim that it's "changing everything" about this and that. It's just a show, but it's a REALLY GOOD SHOW. And I watch it with the same enthusiasm I display while watching any show that I love. I don't believe the show improved me personally, but that's because I'm already awesome, haha. I'm extroverted to the extreme. But what it did improve is my current living -conditions. Yeah.. I'm basically living in the middle of nowhere right now. I'm not used to being so separate from, you know.. EVERYTHING! I keep in contact with my friends through social-networking, but it's extremely rare that I get to speak to anybody else, in person, who is anywhere near my own age. I'm usually alright with a little alone-time, but being so cut-off can get rather depressing. Sometimes I'll find myself in some pretty horrible funks. I've been trying to get a job for years in this piece-of-crap town, but with so much nepotism up here, I never get a chance. College is off the table right now due to financial constrictions. So yeah, I'm basically trapped here until we can move, and that all depends on somebody buying the house. It's simply out of my hands. Pretty crappy right? I haven't even got to go to a single convention yet! They're all too far away for me to go without it getting really super-expensive. That being said, there are some days when the only thing that can put a smile on my face is watching MLP. If not the show, just hanging out in a fan forum like this can be a nice way to cope with my situation. Ponies bring me joy, plain and simple. I honestly can't think of any other cartoon that makes me smile more. Animaniacs might be a close-second, lol. The songs are fantastic, the art is appealing, the characters are adorable, and I'm a total sucker for cute ^-^ Now I just hope I get to visit Equestria in my dreams tonight! It's been a while since I saw any ponies in my dreams, but they've been getting more vivid lately, so I have high hopes
This was absolutely beautiful to read. I know how you feel about accepting people for who they are. Before FiM, I... Well actually, I don't remember when I didn't love ponies, so that's something in and of itself.
Over the pas year that I have been a brony, I have grown greatly in my musical abilities. If I had never joined the fandom, I would have made a lot less music than I do now and the music that I would make would be a lot worse. I would have also been more lonely. It has been real nice to have a cool group of friends to chat with.
Though I do admit that there was some deep effect on me, FiM was and is and will always be lots of fun! My goodness, the amount of fan content to look at and read! Even pouring over the FiM wiki is enjoyable.
Today I realized that since I became a Brony, I've become a calmer, more reasonable, and less angry person. It's been more than a week since I last yelled at somebody, and I haven't hit anybody in nearly a month. What the hell is happening to me?!
I don't think the show itself has had much of an effect on me, nor has the fandom as a whole. This website has definitely helped me along in life though, I can say that. <3 You guys are all amazing. ^^
What has it added? Well, actually, this show has taken away stuff - taken away room that I used to have, money I used to have, time I used to have . . . Seriously, it has changed me, at least a little. First off, for those that don't know, I'm old. And by old, I mean 48 going on 49. And I had pretty much given up on the next generation or three. I only heard about young people in a negative way, and feared that I wouldn't want to see the world in twenty or thirty years. But, after meeting you lot, my hope has gone up. I feel a little better about the world I'm going to grow, well, older into. And I've gotten to meet a whole bunch of wonderful people, and I find myself missing them even though I've never met them. I'm still a little cynical, and I'm not sure that the good will out-weight the bad, but I have hope where I didn't. It's also given me a whole new bunch of terms and jokes to share with my wife, whom I forcefully dragged into this fandom. I say forcefully, because I found an episode I knew she'd like, and suggest she watch just one episode.
Quite a bit, actually. I was in a pretty deep slump in life before I gave the show a chance for the first time back in April, but now I'm a generally happier person thanks to both the show and the (good parts of the) fandom. Who'd have thought these brightly colored ponies could brighten up people's lives in so many ways? ...You could also say it's added to my life a strange addiction to collecting MLP merch. Now, I'm nowhere near as bad as some of those pics you see floating around the web of wall-to-wall collections of MLP stuff, but I've got a nice little array of T-shirts, blind bag figures, a Twilight plush and some random swag I picked up from a local con.
Reading through these comments brings me back when i first joined a brony forum Without getting into much detail, the fandom has brought both sorrow and happiness. I've met a lot of new people and friends, and i have lost pretty much all of them. I hope that here i can have a new fresh start and maybe meet new people!
