My Attempt At Self-Intro

[ImAnAllStar]

Salutations, all ye who clicked on this post. Greetings from TX!

Ok, dropping my bard voice now :)

Hi, I'm SD (I prefer to use my initials online, since it's how I sign my art). 23, cisfemale, artist & geek, and have suspected I'm on the ace spectrum for a while now. Today I realized I'm way more ace than I thought.

Thanks to a combination of some awesome ace people I follow on Tumblr who I really identified with and one of my own younger sister's... experiences and attitudes, and some formal research into the matter this very morning --- I've realized that "sexual attraction" isn't something I've experienced. And that other people... do?

I'm still not sure about my romantic orientation. I've never been in love or been had a serious crush (all my fascinations have been awkward and brief --- and largely based on "well, you're not a HELL NO" and also aesthetically pleasing --- quickly turned 100% platonic). I would still like to fall in love and hopefully enjoy sex with that person. I really want a family -- birth and adoptive kids please! --- & a devoted relationship with that guy.

I guess I'm here because I don't want to live my life not understanding my own needs and desires. I need to figure out my own head, and this seems like a step towards it.

@}>-}--

For a less orientation-centered about me: I'm a total nerd! I'm @aravisgirl on Tumblr, where I post a lot superhero, general geek, and fandom-related stuff. I forever struggle against depression, anxiety, ill health and artists' block to try and get a career in comics & graphic illustration going. I'm mostly self-taught in that regard and was home-schooled ('cept for 5th grade). I like hiking and want to try backpacking, but I never get to, boo! I like learning new stuff, especially if it's challenging. My current goal is Japanese (I've down hiragana down... onto the next two alphabets). I've got a "weird" memory (I remember the most random obscure stuff, and then forget what I was trying to remember, grr), too many big dogs, and couple cats.

Still living with my parents cause the economy + my stress levels don't mix. They're cool with it, especially since I don't have relationship drama. My slightly younger brother is my best friend (we're a lot like twins, since it's only an 18mo gap and he's sadly taller than me now --- what good is being 5'9" if you can't maintain your Oldest Sibling stature?T-T).

Also have a 19yro sister who's a complete fangirl like me. We're planning a comic together, since she's a writer, and she thinks she might be on the aro-ace spectrum too. Her twin sister (fraternal!) is the opposite there and also in appearance. I mentioned her above. Thanks to her allosexual attitude and knowledge, I've been able to discover a lot of jokes and song lyrics are actually sexual in nature somehow. I have since overcompensated for my naivety beyond even my own comfort zone. I'm probably self-destructive.

To everyone else out there, I'm not the best at starting up a conversation, but I do like meeting new people. I'm crud at guessing tone over the internet, so Tumblr-ese or emoticons help fyi. :)

Okay, Imma click "post" now. No big. :D

--SD

[Parmenides]

Welcome! :cake:

Good luck with your fight against depression.

[touching-not-so-much]

Hahh awesome! What a great and actually upbeat intro post, even with the stuff about depression (I and many here can identify). Welcome and make yourself at home and get to know people. Best to you!

[NoLongerActive1234]

What an awesome and well written introduction. Welcome to AVEN! :)

Instead of the traditional cake here is some ice cream to celebrate your arrival:



It might be a bit much to eat all of these so you can just pick the one which has your preferred superhero! ;)

[TheTorterra]

Hi there!

You know, every one of these intro posts is wonderful to read because of everyone's individuality, and yours is no exception.

I too am a total nerd, who did most of their ace-ing on tumblr before finding AVEN. I can also empathize with your struggles with depression. No matter what, never give up! You're a strong person, and you enhance the world with your existence. One thing I've found helps with self-loathing thoughts is to imagine that Donald Trump is saying those things to you, rather than it being your own brain.

In addition, that's really impressive that you already taught yourself one of the Japanese alphabets. Dang, yo, I wish I could do that! What sort of comics and stories do you like to create? What are some of your favorite environments to hike in? Also, what kinds of dogs and cats do you own? Finally, although I'm shorter than you are, I can relate to the issue of younger siblings being taller. Now what do we do?

This might be a bit odd, but I definitely want to be your friend. You're really cool! :D

(FYI, I went to your Tumblr page and followed it, because I really liked the stuff you posted. I'm askedmontonia, though I mostly use thetorterra.)

[ImAnAllStar]

Hi there!

You know, every one of these intro posts is wonderful to read because of everyone's individuality, and yours is no exception.

I too am a total nerd, who did most of their ace-ing on tumblr before finding AVEN. I can also empathize with your struggles with depression. No matter what, never give up! You're a strong person, and you enhance the world with your existence. One thing I've found helps with self-loathing thoughts is to imagine that Donald Trump is saying those things to you, rather than it being your own brain.

In addition, that's really impressive that you already taught yourself one of the Japanese alphabets. Dang, yo, I wish I could do that! What sort of comics and stories do you like to create? What are some of your favorite environments to hike in? Also, what kinds of dogs and cats do you own? Finally, although I'm shorter than you are, I can relate to the issue of younger siblings being taller. Now what do we do?

This might be a bit odd, but I definitely want to be your friend. You're really cool! :D

(FYI, I went to your Tumblr page and followed it, because I really liked the stuff you posted. I'm askedmontonia, though I mostly use thetorterra.)

Thanks! I have a German-Shepard/Standard Poodle mix, a German Shepard/Coy-wolf mix, a lab mix, a pointer/bully/mastiff mix, and some kind of Adirondack mix who's still a puppy. For cats a fluffy dark tabby and a senior citizen Russian Blue manx (she has atypical seizures so we can only pet her head). There's also a revolving wheel of rescues my animal-magnet sister brings through. It's really too many!

For comics, I've been working on an "adventure/fantasy/all in the pot" kids' comic based off my sister when they were preteens, as well as collab'ing with my other sister on a superhero comic where the main character is a hero who couldn't pass the licensing exam so comes Las Vegas where vigilantism is legal. He promptly finds himself roped into a support group/remedial training run by a supervillain who's really just an out of control LARPer with delusions of grandeur. Neither is, sadly, ready to go yet.

I live in the Piney Woods/Big Thicket area, so there are plenty of state parks with small trails, but I'd love to try the Appalachian Trail or other National Trails one day.

Hiragana isn't too horrible to learn, since it's phonetic, and once you learn it, katakana works on the same rules, just with different characters (I'd say I'm 50% proficient with it). Kanji is the real trick. I'm trying to learn the characters alongside the vocabulary, at least well enough to recognize them if not write.

Thanks for following me! I'll try your advice about Trump. It sounds weirdly satisfying. I'm lucky enough that my sisters at least settled into average heights, so my older sibling pride isn't completely demolished.

Dewa mata~ :D