Seriously Newgrounds?!
You guys, I'm literally feeling so many different emotions about this. Right here, this means so damn much to me. I could care less about how many fans I acquire via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or wherever. The fans that do matter are YOU! It's because of YOU that I even pursued my voice acting career. It was YOU who gave me the confidence to audition more. It was YOU who showed me support when I submitted audio bits, voiced in animations and games and joined an awesome podcast. YOU, the glue that holds this beautiful website together, are the fuel that burns the fire inside me. I would be nothing in my career without your generous love and support!
I'll be honest, when the numbers creeped closer to 500, I was watching liking a hawk, waiting for it to strike that elusive total. A wave of emotions hit me when I saw @Tiltro's name pop up in my notifications to mark the milestone. I was happy, excited, overjoyed, overwhelmed, proud, etc. So many emotions filled me to the point where tears nearly filled my eyes. I know it sounds stupid, but I honestly believed no one would even care about my voice acting career, let alone like my work. Friends usually told me, "Hey, you have a great voice and can do amazing impressions. You should try voice acting!" Well, when I actually pursued it, no one really gave a rats ass sadly. Nowadays, friends and family are supportive, minus a few, but those who were supportive right off the bat were my Newgrounds family. The first gig I ever auditioned for came from Newgrounds and I was cast in the project. That was mind blowing to me, and on top of that, my character was a lead in the project. Now, I'm landing more and more opportunities and I'm working with some AMAZING, TALENTED individuals who I'm proud to call my friends.
One of the best components of Newgrounds is the community aspect of the site. EVERYONE supports one another and I absolutely love that. Sure, some people will have their differences, but the majority of the community supports one another and encourages one another to grow and thrive. A perfect example is the Friday Night Funkin' crew. The love and support from the community allowed this awesome game to blossom into a fucking phenomenon that's loved world wide. Now more and more people are coming to Newgrounds daily and I love that. Major props to the team for living out their dreams, and major props to the community for helping me live out mine.
I stated that this milestone truly means a lot to me. I have lots of stuff going on in my personal life that are weighing thick on me right now. On top of handling my day job, finding time to work on all the projects I'm attached too has become stressful and tiresome at times. I keep grinding though because if I want to achieve my goals, I need to. Not just for myself, but for my family and for those who believe in me. As I stated in a recent episode of NGP, I always look to the optimistic side of things and look for the positives. Even though the negatives may outweigh the positives at times, the positives will ALWAYS feel better. This is one of the positive things I needed in my life right now. That joy I felt truly made me ecstatic, it's a small victory, sure, but the victory is powerful and meaningful to me.
Again you guys, THANK YOU SO FUCKING MUCH FOR YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT! You guys encourage me to be the best voice actor I can be and I hope you notice that every time you hear my voice in an animation, game, podcast or audio project. I truly love every single one of you. Thank you @TomFulp for creating this amazing website and giving creative individuals a place to grow and thrive. We wouldn't be where we are today without your creation. Major shout outs to my some of my main buddies @NickSenny, @JoshDytonVO, @Will, @PsychoGoldfish, @Xinxinix, @DannyGoodShirt, @Fro, @JohnnyGuy, @LuckoDaStars, @GrayAnimations, @HarpyCarp, @Bro-son33, @kutaykomiks, @BoyPorcelain, @Jacob, @Spadezer, @RealMrSnuggles, @GoodL and a bunch of others I'm probably forgetting.
A few more things before I wrap this post up. PLEASE go support Newgrounds if you're not a supporter yet dammit. The site deserves every penny and provides a place for creators to grow. I'll be submitting an audio piece for Pico Day so look out for that! I'm liking how it's coming together and I really hope you like my little tribute to Newgrounds :) Please listen in to @TheNewgroundsPodcast! We just hit our 50th episode and we're not slowing down! We love entertaining all of you! Finally, next month, the voice actors of Newgrounds will be releasing Part 1 of the Newgrounds Voice Acting Collaboration 2021! We have some awesome audio skits lined up and a bunch of new, extremely talented voice actors/actresses who will blow you away!
Thank you again everyone!
NEWGROUNDS FOR LIFE!