Hi everyone!
I hope each and every one of you reading this is having a great day/night. Firstly, thank you all so much for your support over the past months. I would first like to apologise for my sudden absence without notice. Unfortunately I hadn't planned to go offline, nor did I expect such a tremendous gap if I did so. I'm truly sorry for leaving the fanfics untouched for so long.
There has been so much going on for me over the past year I've had to focus more on, especially my studies. As a second year student, the syllabuses had just gotten way more intense. This wasn't any better with my subject selections for the first semester beginning this year when I disappeared. Being an offshore student at the time did not make studying better with lectures exclusively online and lack of communication with tutors. Nevertheless, I'm relieved to have been able to pass all the subjects with grades higher than expected, thanks to the amount of focus I've directed towards my studies.
Back in July, I finally returned to Australia to resume in-person classes. It's been ages since I'd left home country (back at the start of 2020) and now that I've lived away longer than I did back then, I've gotten awfully homesick. Along with that, my physical and mental health have been on a gradual decline since mid year. Unfortunately, I caught COVID in July, the weekend before the start of the second semester and missed out on a lot of content. Not even a month later in August I had a terrible fall on my way to class which twisted my right shoulder for weeks, even through my birthday. Sadly the injury is still in its healing phase, and I am just hoping for it to one day return to its fullest potential.
School workload had also taken a major toll on my mental health. I found myself pulling all-nighters every night to keep on top of my work with the amount assignments I had. This unfortunately led to frequent panic attacks in addition to the stress and expectations I implemented on myself, but with my friends around they really supported me throughout. As homesickness grew, I found myself falling into a pit of darkness and loneliness even though my roommates are literally close high school friends of mine. Back home, my brother had been diagnosed with multiple mental disorders which left me in a state of constant worry, being unable to be there for him countries away. Long story short, he's doing much better now, and thankfully is on a journey of complete recovery.
However, even through such emotional distress, there were periods of good times too. Being out of my region of the world has opened up new experiences to me. I had the opportunity to watch Hamilton and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in theatres!!! I absolutely love the unique dynamics of live performers more than recorded movies or TV shows, and I'm hoping to watch Phantom of the Opera in the next few months!
As of right now as I'm writing this, I have completed the assessments for three of four subjects, and am studying for my final exam of my second year of university. Yes, the summer holidays are coming but I'm unfortunately unable to have much free time off as one would expect. I'm currently applying for internships to gain precious experiences before I graduate. I'm also sitting for the Australian medical school entry exam in March so I'll have to be grinding for that... Yet, I still hope to finally be able to return to writing once again. It might not be in the next week at least though, as after writing fours essays and a research paper in a week I think I'm in need of a break first! I'm also being told by my friends to get professional mental help so I'll probably be focusing on that too over the summer.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. This is a confirmation that I will one day resume writing, however the current break I'm on will still remain indefinite. I'm very sorry for the unannounced absence since February, but I hope to see you with a new chapter/one-shot very soon! Have a great day and take care❤️
Sincerely,
Samantha
PS: My Instagram page @nightfurywrider will continue posting my fanfics when I get back to writing, but it will be more of a multifandom account with more of my interests incorporated into IG stories and maybe posts (eg. movies/TV shows watched, Formula 1, theatre experiences). THE ACCOUNT WILL STILL HAVE HTTYD FANFICS. I am considering changing the username but kinda lazy lol
YOU ARE READING
You Are Never Alone
FanfictionAstrid Hofferson struggles with extreme social anxiety and GAD: her daily battle since middle school. However, as her condition worsens after being left untreated over the years, she finally caves into her best friend Snotlout's recommendation to me...
