(Might contain mistakes)
Hello, guys!!π
So, today, is one of the most important days, at least for me and I believe for all fellow Sonic fans - Sonic's Franchise birthday!!! Today is June 23rd, which means that our hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, our favorite Franchise forever, is 33 years old now! This year might be one of the best for me, because Sonic is the one to encourage me to love my life, and to appreciate even the smallest moments of it! And so, here is my story, and why Sonic is the best Franchise with the best memories for me... Forever.
So, before Sonic, I was in the FNF (Friday Night Funkin') Franchise (still in it, but much less now). My brother (he is actually my cousin but he is like a brother to me so I'll say it like that lol), has liked Sonic for a while back then, and so does he now. I didn't really like Sonic before, which for what now I, of course, feel bad and guilty (but that doesn't matter anymore). And so, then, I slowly saw how much he loves this Franchise, so I became curious. One day we were sitting in the park, I've watched one video, then it was his turn to choose what to watch, and he chose to see the SA2 gameplay video. And, I had nothing better to do so I asked him what's it about. He has told me about it, but I didn't know about Sonic at all so I didn't really understand, but it seemed quite interesting and I found myself asking a few questions. Then, I saw the "Hero" and "Dark" stories, and I always thought I am more for villains (as for the Dark, due to the tittle, I ofc thought it's something about evilness lol, I obviously know about it better now bc I am a Sonic fan XD). And so, I knew Eggman a bit, fem characters don't usually take my attention, so I wasn't really interested in knowing who Rouge is, and I wanted to know about Shadow! (He immediately caught my eye lol). And so, my brother told me about him, about his tragic backstory, about Maria and so on. I didn't care about characters much, but I found myself to be interested in it, and actually felt bad for Shadow and what he had to go through even though I just "met" the character, and I listened very carefully. And so, at home, even when I was chilling, I was looking through Shadow's Wikipedia, reading his backstory even as a person who hates reading, and it really caught my attention more and more, and I am not even ashamed to admit, I even cried a little, it was really touching. Then, every day, we've been talking a little with my brother about Sonic, I felt myself getting more and more into the Franchisee, even if I didn't know much about it... But I learned more and more. I don't know why, but I was (and still a bit am) a little of a "hard" person, so I was a bit ashamed to admit I like Sonic, so my brother was asking everyday "So, are you a Sonic fan now?" And I kept telling "Nah, not yet lol" (I was weird lmao). And I even remember how my brother was playing Sonic and I said "Lemme try" when he didn't manage to pass one of the moments in one zone, and I actually enjoyed playing even if I wasn't that much good of a player that time, it was my first attempt to play Sonic! And I didn't say I liked it, but ofc lied lol. I loved it. And for some reason, I came up with excuses that I only tried because of boredom, and when I downloaded Sonic for myself, I said I only did that because platformers remind me of my childhood games (mostly Red Ball 4 in this case lol. I was weird, again-). But, I was lying about all of that, I was already kinda addicted to Sonic, I thought about it replacing my previous interests already, and I was watching Sonic comics on YT and other stuff as well, and I really found myself loving Sonic more than anything. And so, it took me over a year to admit I love STH. But in the end, it was useless to resist anymore. But, even when I did, I said I am in the Franchise only for Shadow, lol. But it was true only on a half of it, yes, he was and still is my favorite character, but I am not in the franchise JUST because of Shadow. Other characters interested me too back then (and now too, of course), and it's also about everything Sonic provides: games, comics, series... (And, Shadow is my favorite character for his tragic backstory and because he is a hero, he's always been my #1 top character for this reason, unlike when some people like him for being "edgy", when they like the new Shadow, it's disappointing. But, about Shadow and also, to mention, Sonadow, these are whole different stories and "journey"). And so, then, as I said, it was no use resisting anymore, I accepted I am a Sonic fan, it was a slow process to come from FNF to Sonic, and to leave everything behind just to be in the STH franchise (I mean, not really/fully/much being interested in something else but Sonic). And during this "journey", I've always been playing Sonic games, listening to encouraging soundtracks, watching STH videos and reading comics and much more. And, not only I realized the fact Sonic was just something I like and a suitable Franchise for me... I found myself feeling knew emotions. I understood how to be proud of myself, to love even the smallest things and understand that anything can bring happiness. I found myself crying tears of joy and smiling thanks to Sonic, the soundtracks, I found myself being braver and more determined, and to have actual goals in my life: to find friends, become rich to travel, and to help someone if they truly deserve it, I started smiling more, even if my personality is still a bit of "hard" and I kinda have anger and trust issues, Sonic helps me with it, always. Whenever I cry, whenever I feel sad or angry... If I watch Sonic stuff, I instantly feel better and always keep telling myself everything will be alright. I hated myself before, for some reason, I believe it's because I don't really have IRL friends and also all the stress at school, bad relationships with some people I care about, etc... I thought I was ugly, useless... But I won't let myself think that anymore, ever. And why, and how?... All thanks to Sonic.
So, in general, even while writing this I understand that I couldn't manage and will never be able to tell you EVERYTHING about my love to Sonic, he causes me to have some special emotions and feelings, which are impossible to describe in words. Despite the flaws the Franchise has and all the hard times it has to face, I try to enjoy it to the fullest. And, in general, what can I say? Thank you, Sonic, for everything... For making me happy, for making me love my life, and to never give up on it, on my dreams, and to see its meaning.
Happy Birthday, Sonic!!!ππππ
