IMPORTANT UPDATE

Hello everyone, I'm sorry if anyone is disappointed that this is not a new chapter. However, I have important and exciting things to say.

Let me cut right to the chase – The Leader's Origin is NOT finished, I have not quit, and I am still writing it! Alas, probably not in the way that any of you have hoped for. Here's the deal, I have decided to completely revise/rewrite it from top to bottom as a new story. Yes, it is being rewritten, but it will not be a completely new story. The main events will stay the same, characters the same, etcetera. However, upon coming home from my first year of college, I wanted to continue this story because I truly felt it deserves to be finished. For me, and for anyone who wants to see the story to its end, because I know that there is a handful of you who did enjoy this story in its prime. As I was writing chapter 24, I was lost in the direction that I wanted this story to go. So, I decided to completely reread my story, to get reminded of everything. Whilst doing that, I realized how many missed opportunities there were for an amazing, deep story. I could have done this a lot better, executed what was in my mind a lot better. The solution, for me, was to rewrite it and start over.

I am using the existing story as my outline, so a lot of the new will be very similar, if not copy and pasted (RARELY) altogether. But I assure you, the new story will have the same themes, but it will be deeper and richer and better written. Much better written, I hope.

In the next few days I will post The Leader's Origin as a new story with the rewritten prologue, and during the week will take down the chapters of this story. However, it is important to me to leave this story up because I want all your comments and critiques to be visible to me so I can make the "new" story the best that it can be.

I doubt anyone is looking at this right now, because it has been so long since I've updated that I'm sure all of you have given up on this or ignored the notifying email altogether. If you haven't, please leave a quick review letting me know that this has been seen by someone!

Okay, now onto deeper stuff that I want to share with you, and please take the time to read this.

This past year was dreadful for me. My first year of college was both amazing, and heartbreaking.

I moved 13 hours from home (which was good for me, don't worry) and started attending my dream school! However, within the first few weeks, my brother passed away. Now, even though I moved away from my home and 13 hours away, I moved to the same town as my brother. So, when he passed away, a lot of responsibilities landed on me. I was the one that was THERE and saw everything and dealt with everything. Naturally, I did not process the grief properly which caused more emotional and mental problems than I ever imagined. It was a lot more than just the death. Trust me, I was not home sick and did not have many issues adapting to college and dorm life. But a lot of other emotionally draining problems showed up, and easily this past year has been the worst of my life. I went through counseling and pretty much did everything to get myself back together as a normal human, one that wasn't sad all the time and suicidal. I am currently much better now and in a good place. I wouldn't say I'm 100%, but, come on, are any of us? I know "depression" and "anxiety" get thrown around a lot in my generation, so much so that I'm hesitant to say that I had either of those things, but I had a professional tell me that I had a mild case of both. And if what I was dealing with was mild, I truly feel for anyone who has a raging case of depression or anxiety. So, that was a huge reason why I didn't write. Well, didn't write this fanfiction at least. I wrote a little bit here and there, but nothing like when I was in my "prime." At best, I wrote for 10 hours a day every day. No joke. Where did I even find that much energy?

Anyways, onto something more happy: When I got accepted into my dream school, I also got accepted into this wonderful program (this program also gave me a full-ride scholarship so go me) based on my writing alone! I put together a portfolio with excerpts from THIS FANFICTION in it and got accepted into this highly cut-throat Fine Arts Honors College. So, that leads me to say…If any of you are embarrassed of your fanfiction, or the fact that you're not twelve anymore but you're still writing about Ash Ketchum, DON'T BE.

Let me tell you something. This community of writers is the reason I got into that Honors College and obtained that badass scholarship. The best part? I was the first writer to be accepted into the program. THE FIRST ONE. I can't believe it either. And you know how I learned to craft a story? Right here on Fanfiction. This site is truly amazing and life changing. I wish I could show you my first ever fanfic from 2011 and how awful it is so you could see how far I've come, from Fanfic and self-teaching alone. I was able to get constant feedback from other writers (some more serious than others) and it changed my writing game forever. I did not learn how to craft a story in school. I learned that right here, while browsing other people's work and communicating with talented authors. Fanfiction is awesome, and I am so excited to be back into it.

Thank you to everyone who has ever reviewed, messaged, or even silently followed me and my work. I am so, so grateful for this community and all of you. I still write non-fanfic on the side and hey, who knows, maybe I'll become a published author (Although I am technically published in a newspaper ISN'T THAT COOL) with a best seller someday. But the point is, I'm not ashamed of my little part of the internet that was, possibly, the biggest influence of my whole life. Thank you all for allowing me to hone my craft in your presence, and being so kind through the years. I hope some of you join me in this rewrite, but mainly, I'm just happy that you've been here. I don't think any of you realize how important your comments have been on my life, but truly they are life changing. I never thought I'd be able to attend my dream in a really cool honors college based on what I love. It's awesome. And I know I have you to thank.

Thanks so much for reading, everyone. Until next time.

Affectionately,

Kirsten