I'm back! And thank you to DCTP

[Moriarty]

Hey guys! So, I haven't really been on the internet much over the past few months... Well, I have, but I'm not a social butterfly on the internet. I've been busy with life things. Like, over the past year, I've been in 3-4 local plays (two of which I had a lead role, one of those being Frankenstein [Woooo just like Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller!}) and a short film. Started writing a Youtube series, everyone seems to like my ideas, but I dunno. I also have had a part time job now for 11 months at Costco. The warehouse manager even asked me if I was interested in meat cutting the other day. I said no. I'm pretty sure he was offering me a promotion, but I genuinely wasn't interested, and everybody said I was crazy, because it is way more money. I don't care about that.

Back to the point. I plan on being more frequent on the forums again. I've only been lurking a couple of hours a month.

Over the past while I've come to realize some things. I joined the forums May 20th, 2009. 2009. That's almost exactly 4 years ago. You know how old I was then? 14 years old. I was only in my 9th year of school. Now I am all grown up! So, up until this past year, I used to be here all the time(even if I didn't post much), but things often get in the way now.

One thing I can say that is 100% true, is that DCTP, and Conan in it's entirety, has probably been one of the most influential things in the past 4-5 years of my life..... Now some of you are probably thinking "pssshhh he's just another fanboy who overstates his gratitude", but let me explain how I have been influenced.

I was never really a happy child (was anyone?), and Detective Conan was one thing that, put simply, made me feel happy.It was the one and only animated show I'd watch. The first episode I ever saw was The Art Museum Murder Case 10 years ago when it aired on YTV (I live in Canada) at 22:30. I didn't really understand how television or the internet worked back then so, it was hard to watch at times. When I was twelve, I understood how to use the internet better, and I'd watch it online, in Japanese (it was pretty much the first thing that gave me any understanding of other cultures), but after a while, the website I had used for the longest time, (detectiveconan.us, some of you might remember it) got shut down. This is when I found DCTP. DCTP has always been a reliable source of Detective Conan for, well, at least as long as I've been here. And the staff are more dedicated than those of any other groups I've seen. But I'm sure I don't need to point this out.

Now, if it wasn't for the fact I watched Detective Conan all the time and got interested in Japanese (and other languages), I probably would have not taken French in high school (I had taken it since I was 10). That would have been one of the biggest mistakes in my life. Oddly enough, that class is the reason why I am such a Drama buff now. I've made tons of extraordinary (life-long) friends in Dramatic Arts circles. There is even a connection to Conan here. There is voice acting behind it all. Connections like this are what make me hold interest in things. I am grateful for this.

This leads me to my next major influential thing. Minami Takayama is the voice of Conan (obviously) and she is also the lead singer of TWO-MIX. Long story short, through listening to this, and downloading that, my collection of Japanese music is now over 7000 songs. Most of it is unrelated to anime. I don't like to be that guy who likes things because It has to do with anime. In general, I don't even like anime that much. Of course, the openings and endings of Detective Conan helped me further my interest in Japanese music. All of this brought to me initially by DCTP. I now cannot go a day without spending around two hours listening to music, a lot of the time I spend learning the lyrics to many of the songs I have, despite not knowing what they actually mean. I want to know though, as if it is an itch I'd never be able to scratch otherwise.

When high school rolled around 4 years ago, the only opportunity I had to learn Japanese was through an after school club. I didn't learn well in a club setting. But I came to realize I had a natural ability to learn Japanese, despite my horrible effort outside of club hours. Not to mention I learn better off paper. I realized I could learn well because I took a "test" at the end of last school year, with a bunch of seemingly more dedicated, more academically proficient people from the club. I had been in the club a lot longer though. And the results were unexpected. I scored a 41/50, while the next closest was 18/50. I think it was probably harder for the rest of them to learn the language because the lacked the personal connection I had, once again, brought to me by DCTP.

When I graduated high school last year, obviously I had to get a job, but I went back to high school this year to take the Drama courses I had never been interested in before that final year. I took this year to decide what I wanted my future to be. I am a person who wants to do everything and anything I am interested in, and even combine those things in some cases. Here's where I stand:

I just got an acceptance letter in the mail from the University of Alberta (google it) congratulating me on my admission to their Bachelor of Arts program. I applied for a major in Japanese Language and Literature, with a minor in East Asian Studies. I start in September. The single most influential thing in my decision to do this, is Detective Conan, and ultimately DCTP. I can truly say thank you, because they have provided it when it mattered most to me. 4 years from now, I plan to go to school more for Drama related things.



How's that for off-topic? Sorry if this long post seems to scare some people, I just like sharing things :/ Some of you will be like TL;DR or whatever, but I get it. It took me an hour to write this.
Anyway, expect me to show up here more often.

[Jecka]

Welcome back

And congrats!

[miyano_shiho]

Welcome back!
That was nice to read (even if it's a bit long).

[Jd-]

Welcome back! I came into this post expecting a long one, and was not disappointed! I'm very glad to hear the positive influence that Conan and the DCTP community has had for you even after all these years (I can say with certainty you're not alone in any respect on that front).

Seeing you mention music reminded me that one of our first interactions on the forums was when you recommended that music be on ConanTV, and I posted a preview image of the (older) version of the site demonstrating it was there:



Random reminisce. Good times! (Hope to see you 'round more, keep up dat music hype)

[Moriarty]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

And Jd-, I had completely forgotten about that. Even after reading your post, it took a while to remember.

[Vinnie]

Welcome back

[Kleene Onigiri]

Welcome back! \o/

[Ringo]

Hey, Moriarty! I cannot really say "Welcome back", since I wasn't here when you got in and left. But, "welcome"... The community has a special place for you. Reading your post made me think of the possible experiences DC and, of course, DCTP would bring to me. I was turned into an ultimate DC fan just this year, and I'm (already) 19 years old. I'm happy that this "world" or "fan-base" has showed and delivered to you good things. See you around, and good luck. (:

[bluekaitou1412]

Hey, Moriarty. This is pretty awesome. Keep up the positivity and welcome back! \o/

[Utsune]

I'm a new member here so not so much on the 'welcoming back' lol, but it's been more than a good read. I'm happy for you, good luck with all that is to come!!!

[Ariel]

Welcome back, and nice to meet you!