This date always catches me off-guard. On Saturday, November 15, Real Life will officially be 4 years old. I’m not planning on doing a strip this time, since I don’t really feel it’s necessary, but damn. I’ve spent FOUR YEARS of my life working on Real Life. I’ve NEVER held myself to a commitment this long. What really gets me is that I think back, and that means when I started this whole shebang, I was EIGHTEEN. Just old enough to buy porn and cigarettes, but damn does it feel like millenia ago. Now I’m 22, been old enough to drink for long enough to figure out what the good stuff is, and really feeling a whole lot more like an adult. 4 years ago, I was still living with my dad. I’ve since moved in with friends, moved three times with them, and proceeded to move into an apartment and a house with the woman I love. I’ve gone through three cars, two jobs (I worked for the state for the first four months worth of the comic, and have been working at the airport ever since), and a whole lot of hard drive space. And what really gets me is that many of you have been there, right alongside me this whole time. If you told me I would still be doing this four years ago, I probably would have laughed at you. I never expected Real Life to become what it has. It was just this little project I did for me and my friends. Now I couldn’t imagine living without it. It’s just what I do.
It certainly hasn’t been without bumps in the road. Nothing is. I’ve thought about throwing in the towel once or twice (thankfully, these were generally fleeting thoughts, and it’s been a long, LONG time since I felt that way), but now I don’t think anything short of an act of God would stop me from doing this. It’s just what I do. Thank you. everyone, for sticking with me this whole time. If you’ve just started reading, don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.
Now, as it is currently prior to 9 am still, I feel it behooves me to return to a grueling day of laying my head down on the desk and sleeping. I just can’t ignore my duties here, you realize. :)