An Anubi Year in Review (2025)
Another year goes by, another year where I think to myself what I did in the last 12 months starts, and this year... Was pretty great! Let's go by parts.
I sadly struggled with doing art for most of it, may it be the stifling climate at the start and end, and the lack of motivation and drive to do things that plagued all year long. I was starting to get burnt out with Art, which meant I had to take multiple art breaks and re-think how the hell I handle things.
I also suffered attacks by a troll group, where they raided my discord server and one of my social media accounts, the latter being multiple times to the point I almost quit it, my server was also locked by a bit which meant no one could join whatsoever.
There's also the AI stuff on the way, which I didn't use any! but it was something that made me unmotivated as time went on, and how everyone near me keeps on using it more and more.
I also dealt with the aftermath of leaving places like Twitter, which hurt a lot as I had over 18k followers at one point in there, and because it isn't federated or the like, it was all lost.
At times I felt like I couldn't really keep going, and made me think if Art really was the thing I should be pursuing...
Now, after I typed these you might think my year wasn't great and was actually trash, but let's look at it all with new lenses.
I struggled with art, yeah, but in early November I decided to change my workflow and focus on taking more spaced breaks between pieces rather than one big break every so often, and while it's hard to get used to this, it's a very fantastic change long-term, as it means I won't have to rush pieces time and time again like I used to, sure, right now I might not be able to get much done (especially with the very hot weather we have around here right now), but it's a positive change in my workflow that lets me rest more and make art that I can feel proud of.
The attacks from the troll group were rough and did me a lot of damage at the time, but even then I managed thanks to the people close to me to come back stronger, not giving up and instead keep pushing.
The AI stuff may be more rampant than next year, but I at least can rest easily knowing I didn't fall for the pretty colors it tries to show, I stood up to my morals and didn't use something that scrapes the entire internet without giving anything back in return, even if I may had a hard year for art, nothing I made was assisted or generated by AI, it was all my own doing, and in this time and age that's something incredible that should be highlighted more.
Leaving places like Twitter and the like might have hurt a lot, but at least I don't have to deal with the constant worsening of the place, both from the site itself and the communities. I now take it for granted, but it feels crazy to scroll through my current social medias and not see ragebait or money-hungry people doing everything so they can get a pie of the ever shrinking, ever worsening cake that at this point doesn't smell like cake anymore.
Even if I may have been at a terrible place, I had the support of close ones, friends, and my love since this year, who all kept rooting for me even when I couldn't believe in myself, and made very positive changes in my life, something I'll be eternally grateful for. Without them, I wouldn't be able to keep being here after all this time.
There are also other things that made this year great for me, like my partner being the most understanding person I've ever met and being there for my ups and downs just like I am for her, being such a sweetheart and lovable fella, or the fact that I finally don't depend on places I don't like for seeing my friends, hell even my own discord server grew to become a small, but amazing community in my eyes that I'm glad it exists.
This year might be and definitely is bad in some aspects, I won't deny that, but sometimes we need to see things in new lenses to see that there's something still worth going for, something that will keep us going and will never fade away, and we must fight for that, even if it's small and insignificant in other people's eyes.
Please don't give up, keep fighting, keep giving it your all, and you will see the fruits of that effort in its time.
Thank you for this 2025, let's see what 2026 awaits.
Bye!
- Anubi "The One Who Draws" Arts.