Let's stay together, always

Tonight I started to re-watch an anime that is very near to my heart.

Words cannot describe how much the anime "Fruits Basket" means to me.

Now before you shake your head and wander off, not wanting to read the rest of this entry...please hear me out. There is more to this story than your typical anime nerd geeking out over a show. While yes, I do fangirl over several all a few of the characters, there is heart to this show...there is purpose. And there is a story.

A story that I won't tell here because you need to watch it to truly understand. And before you make the "but I hate anime" argument...know that I've shown this to people who have said that very same thing...and they loved it. (*cough*laina*cough)

The thing that really makes me love it though...is the special bond I have with a group of my friends because of it. We would marathon through it in the suite...just watching it and loving it and enjoying the company of each other. We would laugh. We would cry. There are a few episodes where I bawled my eyes out.

But for those few hours, we all sat there and watched and geeked out together.

The opening song has a line "Although the scars of yesterday remain you can go on living as much as your heart believes. You can't be born again although you can change. Let's stay together always." For me, that's what defines why this show meant so much to me...to all of us. Everyone has things in their past they're either not proud of or have hurt them in some way...but still we go on. We have to go on. For me, it was the death of my mom, something that to this day still affects me. My life after she died was not normal...no teenager should ever have to go through that sort of pain. But it happened, and I'm stronger for it.

The scars of yesterday will always remain. But it's how we deal with them that make us who we are. We don't need to let them define us. You keep on going, so long as you have faith in something...whether that be friends, religion, or whatever you chose. You can't change the cards you've been dealt, but you can change how you handle them.

And I've learned that I will have my friends and family for the rest of my life. It's a support network I've worked so hard to build, and it means so much to me.

And it means so much that I can share this show with so many of those very same people whom I love dearly. So to Laina, Amanda, Briana, Ducky, Chelsea, Amo, Rebecca, Liz... thank you for accepting me, the rice ball (meaning the weird/outcast/nerdy/geeky person I am), into your lives. It will always mean the world to me.

Let's stay together, always <3

I was so happy when you smiled, your smile breaks through the clouds of grey
Far from the sunny days that lie in sleep
Waiting with patience for the spring
When the flowers will bloom renewed again
Knowing there's more beyond the pain of today
I know the scars of yesterday remain
You can go on living as much as your heart believes
You can't be born again although you can change
Let's stay together, always