Hello everyone and welcome to today’s celebration!

What are we celebrating you might ask and the answer is very simple. Today is august the 16^th and that means one thing, it’s the Heart of Amethyst anniversary!

One year has passed since I started this crazy journey. At first, I believed I wouldn’t get anything from starting this project, just the fun of it. I thought I would do it in my free time and carry on with my life as it was planned, but the past year has proven me wrong and I couldn’t be happier about it.

So, this post is going to be a little different from the previous ones, it’s going to be a little bit more real. I want to share the story of last year, my experiences and all that comes with it. Of course, you don’t have to read it if you don’t want to. But if you decide to stay, I feel that this will help you understand me, the author, a little more.

Besides, I really want my fans to know me for who I truly am. So, here I go, bear with me for a while hehe.

When I started this project, I was going through a rough patch in my life. Med school, as good as it is, slowly drains your happiness away. The tests, the oppressive environment, the envious classmates and some rude teachers. All of that started to keep me down constantly. My grades went down, some of my “friends” abandoned me and I couldn’t keep up with the curriculum anymore.

It pained me to see myself like that, so defeated and sad, but there was nothing I could do. Depression got me hard and I was deep in that abyss, unable to swim back up.

Soon enough, I started to visit a psychologist for students. He told me I was suffering the effects of burnt out and I should try to find different activities aside from college, to keep myself preoccupied. To be honest, even if I wanted to, there was no way for me to do that. You don’t get time for yourself in med school. You just have to study, eat, sleep and then study some more (Sleep is optional).

So, when the inevitable happened and I failed a class, I just broke.

In my head, the idea of getting behind everyone else was insufferable. I thought I was useless, I thought I couldn’t do anything right and I thought I had ruined my future. But, as bad as that was, it was also the ray of hope that I needed.

I found myself in the hands of a not so heavy semester. I decided to take easy classes like English or basic economies, giving myself more free time. And, as you might have guessed, I used that free time to do stuff I really enjoyed. I started drawing more, playing games and watching movies. I had a break, I could breathe again.

So, remembering the words of my psychologist I started doing something different. I began to write.

I’ve always loved to write down stories. In my teenager year’s I used to role play with some of my friends and I really enjoyed it.

With that in mind, I just let my imagination go wild and eventually I developed the idea for Heart of Amethyst. It took me around 2 months to get some characters done and another month to create a basic story line.

A little fun fact, HoA was supposed to be a novel and I would publish it on Wattpad (I’ll let you guys wonder who is the “Canon” love interest for Ehlly. Since it was a novel, there was only one candidate by that time). But, how did it became a Visual Novel though? Well, you can blame Morenatsu for it. I’ve been reading VN’s nonstop since I read that one, and the idea just came to me one night.

So, with that idea and a dream I started to teach myself coding. At first, it was really hard as I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing. I kept on trying though, I didn’t feel like giving up. Still, that lack of knowledge would explain why the code from the prologue and the first half of chapter one was so… Rusty, to say the least.

But even so, as I finished it, I was super hyped to finally publish my own VN. And when I did, something that I wasn’t expecting happened, people actually liked it!

I was mind blown by how much support and positive comments I was getting.

A month later, a guy with a similar project approached me and started talking to me. That guy is one of my best friends to this day and I love him with all my heart, his name is Zordy. He introduced me to his group of friends and even if I was super nervous, we bonded pretty nicely.

They have all helped me a lot and I don’t see my life without them anymore.

It was all going nicely for me. I started making new friends, I continued developing the project and I was overall enjoying myself. But then, November came and I had to start a new semester. I had to go back and redo the class that I had failed.

I thought I had it, I was sure that I could keep it up. After all, I was happy, right? Nothing could stop me!

Well, I was very wrong. Med school ran over me like a truck once more. I started to fall on that pit again and I didn’t know why. I had a break, I was happy once more. So, what happened? What was wrong with me?

After weeks of thinking it properly, I reached a conclusion. There was nothing wrong with me, there never was. I just made the wrong decision and it was coming back to bite me in the ass.

So, with my balls on my neck, I decided to let my parents know that I was dropping out of Med School. Some yelling and fighting happened (even to this day there is still some resentment in the house), but by March of 2022, I was finally free from that burden.

Some months have passed since I took that decision and I couldn’t be happier about it. I’m currently looking for a new career. But this time, I want to make sure I make the right choice. And you know what? There is no rush, I’m only 21 years old and my life is just starting.

And that’s it, that’s the end of this shepherd’s story. I feel a little light right now, as I finish writing this, but I really wanted to put my feelings out there.

All I have left to say is… Thank you.

To all of you who have read this project, to all of you who have left a nice comment or has interacted with me, to all of you who constantly support me.

Thank you to all the friends that I’ve made due to this project and thank you to the characters that I’ve created.

Every single one of you has given me hope and I could never thank you enough.

So, all I can do is keep on doing my best one day at a time. No use getting frustrated thinking about the future.

My life belongs to me now and I’m not giving it away.

I love you all.

...

Wait! Before you leave, there is something that might interest you. I actually prepared something special for this year’s anniversary.

• First thing is a YCH that will be hosted on twitter. Anyone is welcome, so make sure to take part on it. (Here’s the link: https://twitter.com/JadenPup/status/1559633036362350592)
• Second, I will also be hosting a Q&A on twitter. I’ll be answering all my favorite questions that you make, so make sure to leave a comment on that post. (Here’s the link:https://twitter.com/JadenPup/status/1559633657630965761 )

And that’s it! This time for real hehe Have a great day and happy anniversary to you all!