User blog:Gumball2/Reflections From This Year (2017)

Another year has come and gone for the Internet. And for me, it was quite the year. I got into this fandom in October 2016, but I suppose you can call this my first full “year” of involving myself with this show.

It’s been quite the ride. This year, I started using this wiki as a medium for my involvement. You’ve probably seen me around making silly blog posts every once in a while or attempt to make a logical series of thoughts into a comment. My activity on this wiki began in this calendar year and it has fundamentally shaped how I engage with this show I’ve come to love. I had the chance to see some great people this year (and some of which I’ve had the pleasure of talking to as well).

This year, I followed Season 2 unfold over thirteen months. I saw brief glimpses of the show’s absolute worst, but they do not tell the whole story. 2017 was a metamorphosis for a show that, while already good, had held back punches. But this year proved that even it can change, that it can move on from what it thinks needs to happen, to become its own identity within its own time. People were sucked into this show because they felt it was reminiscent of the 90s, but this year was a shift to the 10s (and with it inherits much of the strengths that come with the latter decade).

In 2017, the show has inspired me to create. I wrote and completed six fanfics this year (four oneshots, a short story, and a novel). While I certainly have created fanfics before for other fandoms, this show has encouraged me to try and create something compelling. Maybe it’s fandom is young and growing, but I felt like I was contributing to a broader community than for the older, more established fandoms I’ve written for before.

And speaking of which, my year was made most fulfilling by this wiki. As stated above, I’ve met some great people on this site in 2017. But what makes you stand out from other experiences I’ve encountered is that you are working to build something from the ground up. The show is young and many questions remain unanswered. You’ve only started to crack into the raw potential this show and it’s fandom can produce. I can see greatness unfolding in real time. You are responsible for making it happen on this wiki. It’s all of you that make this fandom what it is. Not all of it is agreeable, but it’s what makes it active.

So with that, I thank this wiki and its members for making 2017 a compelling year for me. I hope to continue involvement going forward to see what happens next.