A thousand days of Pirate. And her journey has only begun…
It’s been a long time. A very long time. 1000 days, in fact. And each and every day I drew a picture of Pirate.
True, I forgot to post some days, and other times I feel like the humor wasn’t there or the drawing didn’t capture my ideas fully. But when I first started this blog nearly three years ago, I intended to do just this. At the time, I had no idea how to draw. I’d just bought a Wacom Tablet, and I wanted to improve my art skills and draw this cute character called Pirate. And so I did.
My first pictures are still on here. Well, not my first few pictures. I think I threw those away. But I decided that no matter how awful I was, I’d draw a picture of Pirate doing something every day as a way of improving my art. And I did. And somewhere along the way people started watching.
I never really promoted this blog. I’m no good at social stuff, and I really didn’t have the confidence at the time to say I had anything worth sharing. But slowly a few people began watching this blog. And I am grateful to you all for it.
But with that all said, it’s time to say goodbye. I know it’s sudden and I only hinted at it during my 900th post, but I’ve made my decision. And it’s been hard to do.
If I could I would draw Pirate forever. Some days its hard to figure out what to draw or be creative, but I truly believe I could come up with a new picture every day for the rest of my life. If I had the time. If I could make it work. But I can’t.
I’ll be honest, part of it is money. Part of it is time. These are petty things, but I’m growing older and they weigh more on me each passing day. When I first started this blog I was in college, and had time on my side. But now I’m graduated and working. And though I can still work and draw, it’s harder. And harder still is finding the time to do other things.
You may not know this if you only come to the blog to look at the pictures, but I wrote a book. All things considered it wasn’t a great book since I failed to market it well. I self-published it and failed to do any of the things that would help me sell it. It was a lesson, and one that I learned a lot from. But I found in writing that book something I loved to do.
I want to write. I want to draw. I even want to make video games. But I don’t have time for any of it, and this blog means I spend hours each day making a new picture. So, as much as it hurts I need to stop. I wish it weren’t so, but I can’t be the same forever.
…
It feels like so much has happened in the world since I started drawing. In the time since I began, we lost many people. Celebrities, family…I’ve drawn through the loss of people I loved to the start of wars. It feels sometimes like the world has become a darker place. But this blog was always meant to be a place to lose yourself for a few seconds each day.
Yet I can’t keep creating it. It’s not that I feel like it’s worthless; on the contrary, that’s the problem. Every day, no matter what I did, no matter how low I felt…so long as I had this blog, I could feel good about what I had done. But that is what is holding me back. So long as I have this small blog, I could devote my time to it and not creating something larger. So I have to stop. But the memories remain.
Let me write this down so I may make a record of it. In the time since I started Pirate Blog, I have had just over 10,000 total views on this site. Over 4,000 people have visited this blog, and 173 people follow this blog. It’s truly been fun.
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If I could, I would draw here forever. If I could. But I can’t. Pirate’s story was never meant to be the comedic, random story it is here. Her true story, the one I know and have never told is far larger than this blog can contain. So she must set out on that journey, just as I have to change.
But is Pirate gone? Am I leaving here forever? No. Pirate, Knight, Rabbit, the Stick People…they won’t simply disappear. Each one has their own story I hope to tell, and they will remain here as well. Some day I will come back, and I hope to create more stories about Pirate in the future. But for now, Pirate Blog is on infinite hiatus.
…
I’m sorry to write in such a clumsy fashion. But there’s no magic in my words right now. Just a bit of sadness. I thank you all who read this, every single person who’s ever commented and liked my posts, or simply clicked on these silly pictures and enjoyed seeing a girl named Pirate.
Someday I will return. But for now, at the end of a thousand days, Pirate Blog is over. Thank you for reading. Until we meet again,
–pirateaba
Pirate Blog 