Construction part 2 + Gratitude

UPDATE 10/14/20: I have midterms right now and I'm really struggling with school stuff, so it might take even longer than usual for me to post next >.<

Thank you for your patience!! You are all so wonderful :')

Hey Jammers! Not much of a post again, but the beloved Night of the Phantoms update happened:

Some new diamond items...

Arabian horses are back, and the possibly copyright infringing My Little Pony promotional art is back as well... xD

Hyenas are here once again!

Pet hyenas AND pet turkeys are back as well. As you can see, Jamaa Journals rhyme during big events like Night of the Phantoms.

This page was actually accidentally put in the last update, but was then replaced by the Matsuri festival page. Here it is again in its right place!

And finally, the Spooky Party has returned along with its signature pet bats :) 

And there also looks to be at least one completely new den item:

I went to check the Animal Jam Wiki page, and yep, today is the day of its first release! Dang, that wiki is well-updated. 

It's so cute! I love that snazzy little bow :D

The statue is animated, too– a little ghost whooshes around it every so often. All in all a really great item! 

Moving on...

SO this post is called Construction part 2 because I mostly just wanted to update you on my long, treacherous quest to re-do the layout of this blog. On some browsers Animal Jam Stream was taking a really long time to load, so I deleted a couple things (page bar, and a 'recommended posts' thing that stopped working months ago) that I think were causing problems, and it worked! As far as I can see, it loads fine now.

I'm not done though-- I want to re-do the layout of this blog to make it prettier to motivate me to post here more often. I actually got pretty far with designing a new header earlier this year, but I just never finished it because a lot of stuff happened in my life that was very difficult for me and I lost sight of my creative goals.

Generally, what's making my goals take longer is:

1. Classwork

2. Still haven't completely unpacked after moving (or mentally adjusted to my new space, for that matter) >.<

3. I started using a different computer earlier this year and I haven't yet transferred my other files or put Photoshop on it

4. Just difficulty concentrating a lot of the time– seriously, every few sentences I write in a post or an essay, I get up and pace for at least five minutes, and by the time I'm done there's no more time to do anything else I want. I really need to stop that xD

5. Aaaaand, of course, mental health issues. I've been dealing with those for a long time, but especially these past few months they've been terribly hard to deal with. I'm just constantly on edge all of the time TT_TT

But I'm not gonna turn this into one of my Sad Posts™, because I do know that things will get better, for me and for the world we all live in. Even if it's hard to believe.

And while that list up there is for your information, it's also a lil to-do list for myself. I can't believe I've waited this long to transfer my files! I'll do that ASAP so I can get back to making this blog look pretty.

For the new layout, I'll be taking some inspiration from this old Jamaa Journal cover I thought was cute:

I mean, it won't look exactly like this, but I'm gonna try to model the sidebars after it.

Maybe I think too much about this blog's design, but it is my happy place after all :)

Before I go, here is a similar to-do list of a few post ideas I have for the future:

1. Compilation of all of Animal Jam's signature fonts-- not just Tiki Island and CC Digital Delivery. No, this will be a post for the true AJ nerds who wanna know the fonts used everywhere, even during beta testing. 

2. Theory about what would happen if the most high-demand spiked collars/wristbands got released in stores again– and why maybe that's a good idea.

3. And more fun contests, for sure! 

This might seem random, but I wanna let you know that I appreciate all of you. Yes, you the one reading this! I almost can't believe you're taking the time out of your day to read this blog that I care about so much, yet struggle to keep up with. 

Even on the days where I'm paralyzed by anxiety, worried about everything going bad, it's such a gift that I can log into Blogger and see a new comment or two. I so appreciate how every one of your comments spreads positivity in its own way, through your honesty, through your kindness to others, even just a comment about something you did or something that's on your mind, even if it's just something silly. 

And sometimes I forget how special that is. 

Most blogs don't really get comments, or have regular commenters. The fact that so many of you have been checking in to comment is actually crazy special. You've put up with my slow posting schedule and made Animal Jam Stream a special, positive place. A virtual zen garden on the internet.

I'm endlessly grateful for you. Even while I've been going through the most difficult point in my entire life, even while I don't post as often as I'd like, you've all stuck around in your own way. And I am so honored. 

As I recover, as I adjust to my new life situation, I really want to show this gratitude to you all and rededicate myself to making more interesting posts. I want to give back and be more consistent here. I'll need to get better at managing my time, but I swear this will happen. 

Until the next post, stay safe, and I hope to see you in Jamaa! :')