Citizens of Newgrounds. I am S.T. Musician. Also known as Shane. For the past few years I've been on this site, I look back at it with a fresh perspective. The stuff I been through bad and good (some mostly more than the other), have been a great learning experience for me. And even to my worst enemies or my best friends on this site and outside, I have you all to thank for guiding me on this journey. That being said there is something I must tell you. Now bear in mind, this is not meant to insult or offend you. This is not my intention. This is not meant to make you quit this site or social media in general if anything it should encourage you to be more active on it, as you never know where you would find inspiration from and this place and many others, despite their faults are still a great way to share them.

However, that does not mean you have to spend your whole life on them. Social Media and other platforms like this are no different than a fantasy world. As I mentioned here, rule #5 states "Truth is Stranger Than Fiction." I always believed that any form of fiction was not encouraging real life events in a bad way, but really mainly being a reflection of reality. While I will still make music and maybe make it to where I can make enough to not only improve my life but also fund the dreams I've been trying to make reality, I must say, staying off this and many sites for a while has done more for me than spending a chunk of my time on them. It gave me time to re-evaluate my life, get out more and see things I wanted to see as I explored my town a little more. And for the most part I accomplished a lot of short, minor, but still personal goals that I wanted to do, but felt obligated to come here instead. But once I was able to get a stable home and a means of staying alive long enough to explore it. I was able to by complete and total accident, find and find out a few more things. For starters, one of the special effects technician for the David Cronenberg hit, Videodrome, lives in my area. So on top of meeting an effects techie from one of my favourite movie, I basically met a man who personally worked with David Cronenberg, James Woods and whomever else was in the movie cast and crew alike. So that was a major scratch on my bucket list. "Meet someone who works in movies. Meet someone who works in movies you've seen. Meet someone who works in movies and is in a position to talk with the main cast and crew." But that was just pure luck, compared to the other things I experienced.

For starters, due to circumstances surrounding my building including but not limited to that fucked up thing I found out, I decided to go out more and explore places in my neighborhood. Partly because I was afraid of going to jail killing this man myself and anyone that stood in my way. For starters when I first moved into the area I went to the local library that was not too far from my place of residence. I put off looking at that, but something told me I had to go there. And I was glad, because when I confirmed a few things while looking for more books to read on my favourite subjects, such as paranormal and astrology, which was what cemented it for me to write this book. As well as heighten my curiosity and explore that side further. As I walked further down, I found what seemed to be stores that were figuratively and literally right up my alley. I also found as I walked further along, one of the local police stations. Now I live in a neighborhood, that if you were caught inside the police station, you better be a cop, desk jockey, visiting your friends in holding, be arrested or be a lawyer, there is only one word they would call you:

RAT!!!!

It's one of the reasons local citizens seldom call the police. Myself included. It's one of the first rules in surviving cities like that. So needless to say although I couldn't believe it was there, I kept on walking, but before I left I noticed something. That being said, that explains why they hurry quick here, because it's one thing to call 911, it's another when the station is a few blocks away from a crime that can be heard from that far. There was also an EMS logo. Emergency Medical Services. Much like the states, this basically means, Paramedics and other emergency medical stuff. This wasn't just a local police station, it was also a station to park ambulances. Hence why they arrived so quickly whenever something came up in my area. Now I thought that was weird, because I always thought EMS and Police in any part of the world, would be in separate locations even if they were side by side. But then I realized. While people were going about it the wrong way, the police at least in my neck of the woods did listen regarding the safety, health and overall life of whom they're arresting. Now in terms of my views on law enforcement. Here's my summary: I don't like or hate police officers. Some officers in my neighbourhood I've spoken to are nice polite, uniform aside, they're people like me and you. That being said, while I never had it as bad as many others in the history of the world. I have witnessed the nasty side of cops. I won't get into detail of what it is, but take my word for it, it was pretty bad. Me and my family witnessed busts and brutality almost everywhere we went. And that's just the tip of the iceberg of the crime in my town. Some of which even happening to members of my family. As a kid it made me hate them whether people I knew deserved to go to jail or not. I got exposed to shit as a kid, no kid should ever get exposed to.

However, that being said, there are some positives. When I went to the other side of the station and kept moving, I found that there were places I've been before, but just didn't remember at the time. Making my life on the mental side at least, more complete. As a result, new ideas started flooding in, new goals, things that would help me improve on my work either in small doses or one grand thing. As well as finding better ways to achieve other dream goals and life goals.

As a result of this journey as well as many others before it, due to my instinctual need to explore, I was able to find a lot of interesting things. As befitting of one of my favourite Nintendo Characters. I was able to go many places, meet interesting people and while it took only a few years for Link to get where he was, it took me longer. 26 years of my 32 year old life. Soon to be 27 because even with this new lease on life, there will always be a lot to learn and for once I am ready to be taught.

Now this journey wasn't easy. Both on and offline, I fought many battles. Did and said nasty things to many people whether they deserved it or not and most of the time thought my entire life was complete and utter shit. But then I realized, life is a test of character. It's not about what life can throw at you, but how you react to it. To you get hit and fall down, do you try to dodge it or do you keep moving forward. In my case, I have hit hard, got hit hard, kept going no matter where I was going or how bad things may seem, but after so many years, things started to pay off. Hence why I thank my enemies as much as my friends. I realized now all the bad stuff in life were necessities to test my character, see how I can handle things in my own life and the lives of those I care about. In this case, it toughened me up, hardened me, strengthened my resolve. There were times were I was too overconfident, cocky, even outright arrogant and as a result I screwed up badly many times, yet despite all that, I was still able to move forward, no matter what life threw at me. There were a lot of things in my personal life and the lives of those around me that I felt needed to be resolved before I could move forward to my dream goals. And on my journey to solve them I managed to find a lot of things. I found something much bigger than myself. I found a cause worth fighting for. I found friends and family that would have my back no matter what and I know it's kind of a groaner, but I also found love. And I will not lose what I find, to colossal douchebags all over the world both on and offline. I will fight, hurt and even kill just to keep what makes me happy and what makes the people I care about happy. But that being said, I am at a point in my life where I don't even have to do that, no matter how much I want to. And some of you seen how crazy I can be in the past. Why? Because I did the one thing we humans never really truly did since the days of the Internet first surfaced, I spent time in the real world. And as a result I was able to help more people than I ever could hurt, including myself. However that doesn't mean I didn't get my hands dirty once and a while.

Look as much as I groan about how things are these past couple years, but neither I, you or anyone for that matter would ever be frustrated had we spent a little less time on the net and a little more time in the real world. We have technology that can replicate many experiences whether we like them or not. Including but not limited to the recent AI trend. But the one thing it cannot do so far are the things you would need to survive this world from food to clothing. It can make tools to make that stuff, but not replicate the stuff at least yet this year. That's where the line of fiction and reality is drawn. Because while we were able to do a lot of things on the internet including but not limited to many ways of making money, reality is the only place where you can get a decent meal.

Basically what I am saying is instead of looking at the world through a fucking screen, look at it with your own eyes. At least once and a while. You never know, there are probably places you've never been to or things you never seen, heard, felt, smelled, tasted or touched. It's not too late, you have so much to live for and this is how to live. So what I ask of you is this:

NEVER GIVE UP ON REAL LIFE!!!!

Take the bad with the good, the right with the wrong, because they aren't faults, they're learning experiences and who knows, when you do better your life, it may end up inspiring you if not....just a little more. All it takes is that first step.

Good luck, stay safe and have many wonderful Happy Holidays. And to those who snore on this, your loss.