Ever since I stopped visiting this site on a daily basis I've realized that constantly checking notifications, the votes on my stuff, and other people's stats, was making me more sad and frustrated than I thought. Taking a break really helped me to distance myself from these feelings and reflect on why I use Newgrounds in the first place. I've found that I primarily used Newgrounds for attention and validation, especially when the general forum was still open. I'd attempt to make art and music, and often post on the forums, to attract attention, in hopes that other people would leave a review or reply. This was a rather depressing way to use Newgrounds, especially when I compared myself to newer accounts that were getting more attention than mine. Eventually it got to the point where I considered deleting my online presence, several times. It was by this time I stopped logging in every day and started to think about how Newgrounds was affecting me.

I now know that I don't want to continue using Newgrounds (or other platforms) for attention or validation. This means that I'll be less active than ever, and I'm happy with that. What makes me even happier is that I finally put my thoughts into words and don't feel ashamed of it! I've been wanting to get this off my chest for a while, and with this finally off my chest, I wish everyone reading this a continued good day.