If a year ago, someone would have told me what the next year would hold for me, I would have laughed and disregarded every single aspect of the story. A year ago, I was someone else in many ways. I was a slightly shy, closeted boy, eagerly awaiting my trip outside my home country alone, with my 18th birthday coming up in just a day. For the first time, I would be able to see the people I have only been talking to via the Internet for over a year, and it was exciting. Now, on July 4th, I didn't really make a big thing out of my birthday and kept it low, leading to me not really celebrating it, but... a birthday gift in a way was my first sighting of someone that has changed me and my life a lot ever since, a gift money could never even attempt to buy. He is also the reason I opened up more to everyone and, for the first time, being able to truly be myself. So, in a way, 4th of July is also my independence day.
The events after that are commonly known: The person and I got to know each other more and more, the same-minded people from the community also started to build up friendships, and all in all, after Minecon 2015, everyone ended up happier, and for me, it all started on July 3rd - they day I started out on an adventure I never came back. And even though you might not care about this, I do, and I want to thank everyone for being awesome, please stay this way.
July 3rd will always be a date I remember, always and forever.
