While I’m not one to talk so much about this, I thought I’d share a bit on this holiday:

I feel fortunate to have a good family background, built up a good career & currently upgrading it to a Masters level. But going to all these fandom conventions & events here, I’ve met so many people I would never have met without this. The fandom hasn’t really changed my life, but it has helped to enrich it in many ways.

Meeting & seeing people from all kinds of backgrounds has helped me embrace what I have unique to me, rather than try to be like someone else that’s “ideal”. Even if my social skills still need a lot of work, hope you people forgive me when I mess up my social interactions, which still happens a lot.

I currently enjoy my bachelor lifestyle & the reason I’d have a girlfriend/wife is to start a family someday. I know I currently can’t afford that and I’m not out to actively look for a girlfriend. It’ll happen when it’ll happen. That’s OK, I don’t need to give in to Asian family pressure! And as a straight single guy, I can smile & be happy for those in their relationships without needing to have one of my own.

I’ve been able to pursue hobbies that I didn’t have enough of a medium to before. Photography, videography, dancing: things I know I’m not the best at. I’m no longer afraid to ‘try these hobbies out’, but it’s been ‘how can I get better at these’. To have many likeminded people around to just practice these things with.

That I don’t have to bother at all with touching the ‘adult side’ of the fandom and embrace the fandom as a space to be a child again. Opening up much more that I could as a child. Be a giant fluffy animal or a scary dragon and mess around with things! Dance in a giant animal costume!

And our Asian Photobooth thing that totally took off! Man, as one of the people who helped do the first Asian Photobooth at MFF 2016, I somehow feel that’s what I’ll be remembered more for in the fandom someday.

So yeah, TLDR, being around all the animal people has helped enrich my life! Because Fuck You I’m a Dragon! Rawr!