I know for a fact that I didn’t make it this far in my blogging journey by myself. At the very least every reader and commentator along the way has motivated me and encouraged me to keep at it. I am really grateful for that and I try to make sure it comes across whenever I can.
But there are also a lot of bloggers that have helped me behind the scenes and I realize I haven’t been as clear with my appreciation. I would like to remedy that today.
The problem with these types of posts is that I have been around for a while. I have now published around 1500 posts and collabs on a variety of blogs and there have been a huge amount of people that helped me out along the way. I will definitely forget someone. Most likely I will forget a lot of folks and some of them are probably super important folks that I will kick myself for leaving out. Senility is no fun!
I’m going to try to go more or less in chronological order here.
Artemis
Artemis was the first blogger to ever comment on one of my posts. And by that I mean not just “great post follow me at…” but an actual comment that had to do with anime. The anime I was talking about even! I was so excited that I promptly went to their site and devoured whatever post I could find. Not the best idea….
You see Artemis writes well. Intimidatingly well. And they know, I was going to say anime but actually they know about a wide variety of topics which makes their posts so much more interesting. For a second I thought that I was way out of my league with this blogger thing if this was the average talent and also that blogs were for geniuses. I was right of course but also Artemis is particularly skilled. Through the years they’ve always left relevant pertinent comments that have brought me to think more about and better understand the topics I write about and just be a better blogger in general.
Remi Fool
Sadly Remi doesn’t have much time for the Lily Garden these days. When I started out he was a popular and active Yuri blogger who posted a public call for collaborations and I was one of the dozens of people who commented their interest. I didn’t expect much but he answered back and we eventually starts talking in DMs.
Not only did Remi agree to numerous collaborations with me, he was also my go to person for any silly questions I had about the aniblogging community. Infinitely patient, Remi took the time to answer whenever he could and I was thrilled when I finally had the chance to return the favour! In those early days, he was really one of the people that made this place more welcoming.
Karandi
Karandi has a small blog you may not have heard of called 100 Word Anime…It already had over 1k followers when I started… And that tiny blog gave my 20 follower blog a mention in a roundup post. I got do excited when I saw that. I felt like I had really made it. I still get excited whenever any of my posts get mentioned by another blogger.
We commented on each other’s posts fairly regularly but it was a long time before we actually worked together. Turns out Karandi isn’t just a great blogger to read, she’s a great blogger to work with as well. And she still keeps me motivated and gets my lazy butt in gear.
Shokamoka
Now Shoka was a great person for getting the community involved. Shoka probably introduced me to more other bloggers and community projects than anyone else. And gave me my very first award post nomination. It was a big moment. I considered printing it out and sticking it to my fridge. As a show of my eternal gratefulness, I proceeded to nominate Shoka for absolutely anything and everything I could for over a an encouraged everyone else to do the same. At one point the poor dear ended up getting pinged half a dozen times in a single day!
I’m sorry for the newer bloggers that didn’t have the chance to get to know Shoka but who knows. Maybe if we all start nominating Shoka for everything they might decide to come back! Should we do it????
Scott
I often say Scott is awesome. But that’s the best way I can find to describe it. See Scott is a nice guy. But not a nice guy like what you say about someone you don’t really know or don’t have much else to say about. Scott is a genuinely kind person in a way that’s much more impressive than he realizes. I want to be more like Scott when I grow up but if I fail, I want to at least have more people like Scott in my life.
This kindness can be felt through his posts and in all the years that I have known him he has consistently guided me to take an open minded and positive approach to the sometimes tricky online interactions I was not always properly equipped to deal with at first!
Dawnstorm
I have softly tried to convince Dawnstorm to start a blog on several occasions. And failed. That’s because Dawnstorm’s comments are often my favourite part of my own posts. Dawnstorm has been commenting on my blog for years consistently adding interesting insights, educational this bits or thought provoking opposing view points. Always respectful.
Not to mention that by now Dawnstorm is responsible for making me discover a pretty large number of anime that have become my favourites. I think Dawnstorm might be the person that has the best grasp on my anime tastes, including myself. If I stated a blog so I could discuss anime, Dawnstorm really helped that ambition come to pass.
Crow
Admittedly, I was already a somewhat seasoned blogger when I met Crow so he didn’t so much help with getting the blog off the ground. However I just couldn’t leave him out. Seeing as Crow is both an actual editor and an actual computer specialist I have taken advantage of his kindness on more occasions than I can count with blogging and writing questions. And he is just so nice that even when he doesn’t have an answer he goes out and finds it. It’s amazing
Honestly, do yourselves a favour and get to know Crow. If you’re not already following him you really should.
Pete
Pete is a gaming blogger (you know him from Moe Gamer) and an actual professional journalist. I always feel intimidated when Pete reads my blog so you can imagine how nerve wracking it was when I had just started. But Pete never made me feel like an amateur even though he clearly could have.
And when a subject is dear to him he always starts these fantastic comment conversations that prove to me that discourse was possible through blog form.
Oh my..did I say 5… What can I say, I had a lot of help to get where I am. And I am not even talking about those amazing bloggers I met later on like Mel and Raistlin or the newer friends that keep me coming back to the blog and my owls compatriots like Lita who is sunshine in person form or Taku who is too great to let my jealousy of his impressive skills get in the way and..I should stop or else I never will.
