Hey everyone, I am back with another yearly review!

If this is your first yearly review of mine, I'll fill you in: Basically, every year since 2021, I have been taking a look back of what I have accomplished over the year, as well as a general feeling for how the year went for me, I guess. So let's not waste any time, and let's just jump right into it!

How many cartoons did I get done this year? Well, I got a grand total of... three. I got three done. Yikes.

Okay, well that isn't entirely true, I technically got 13 done. But what's the deal? None of you saw any of that. Well, the two projects that you DID see were some of the projects that I worked the hardest on. They are by far my longest, most fleshed out projects that I had worked on by far, and those were most definitely worth posting...

Jip The Friendly Demon was our student film for the final year of NCTA. When I say "our student film", I mean that I worked on it with two other very talented individuals. I did all of the lead animation, as well as the storyboards and planning for the film, while Illiana worked on the animatics and backgrounds, while Paul made the logo and sorta just monitored the rest of the film. Pretty neat.

Jip The Friendly Demon was actually ranked the best out of our class, and ended up making it to the animation finals with a couple other films, which meant we actually got our film screened in front of a crowd of around 100 people, as well as three animation industry professionals! ...I have no idea who they are, but hey, still pretty cool. While we didn't win, we did win the "Outstanding Achievement in Unique Perspective" award, and we got overall pretty positive reviews all around from everyone. It felt really good having it screened, and it's something that I wish we are able to experience again! It was really awesome. I am incredibly proud of my team and what we accomplished, and I hope that we are able to work on something together once again!

The other animation that I released was LL - Hellfire REDUX, my Lock Day short for the year. It was a remake of one of my favorite Lock Legion films "LL - Hellfire", which in itself was a remake of the classic "Hunchback Of Notre Dame" scene. Originally, I didn't think that I was going to get this one done, due to it being made along with Jip The Friendly Demon, both huge projects. Somehow though, I was able to finish Hellfire in the last week, a DAY before Lock Day. And honestly, I don't know how I pulled it off, it was really tough. It is by far my most ambitious project, and I am really proud of it.

...and then I made the bear animation, which was... neat.

The other animations I made this year that I didn't upload was either for school, random shitposts that I didn't think were worthy uploading, or part of my secret project (more on that later)... I mean, if you REALLY wanted to see it, sure, I might come around to putting them in a Google Drive link or something, but honestly I just didn't think they were worth anybody's time. There is one animation that I am really proud of, but I am choosing not to upload that one because it is for my boyfriend and my boyfriend only. I didn't really make it with anyone else in mind, only him specifically. So it would feel wrong to upload it, because that is his Christmas gift, not anyone else's.

So needless to say, this year was a really... really inactive year for me. This is mostly from the burnout that comes from doing two huge project back to back, but most of you may know that this is also because I have been struggling with heavy depression this year. I've always had this, but this year has when it has been hitting full force, and I just had to take a step back and try to focus on getting my mental health in a relatively okay state. I'm not going to get too deep into it because I don't want this post to turn into a vent, but I will let you all know how things have gone since my hiatus has started; I have been put on medication which is helping me quite a bit, and I am seeking out therapy (though it is a bit difficult to find in my area). And my friends and family have been more than supportive, and I thank them all for being with me and helping me in this really tough time. I am doing a lot better now, and I hope to get back on my feet in 2024 and go in full force!

So... what now? What are my plans for this year? ...I'm not sure, if I'm being entirely honest. This year has been kind of a rough one for me, and I don't really know where to go from here. I want to make animations for sure, but I don't know if I am capable of going as ambitious as I wished for last year. To add onto it, this year is going to be a big year for me, as this is gonna be the year that I graduate.

I guess I'll try to start simple; I want to focus on my show in 2024. Some of you may know that I have been working on a show for the past year, and I really want to finish this, if anything else. So instead of multiple projects, I'm going to go full force on one MASSIVE project, and I want to be able to finish it this year above anything else. That is my priority.

If I finish the show early, I might sneak in some other stuff in there too, but I'm not sure what. I know I am DEFINITELY going to work on a Lock Day short this year, that's an always. (I'm always loyal to the Legion, baby.) I have been very fascinated with music as of recent, and I would LOVE to work on a music video for someone if I have spare time... it would most definitely be an awesome project for me. (I already have one in the works, actually, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to upload it due to copyright.) However, this is just speculation for now, as I really want to focus on the show and the show only right now.

Like last year, I want to wrap up this year with a massive thank you to everyone on Newgrounds. Newgrounds is my favorite website ever, and everyone here fucking rocks. Everyone.

In today's age, so many websites are built upon negativity and hate, and are usually just a warzone in general. Newgrounds is one of those special exceptions, and revolve around uniting people and sharing passion for animation, music, art, games, everything. And that's so fucking special and rare, dude. Newgrounds is one of the last few remaining websites that is built on it's community, and I genuinely think that Newgrounds is the future of the internet.

And it's not just people like Tom Fulp or any of the mods who keep this website strong and alive (even though they are, indeed, fucking awesome), it's YOU. You keep this website alive and strong just by posting your awesome content, donating to the site, and having fun. So thank you all, and I fuckin' love you guys.

Additionally, I want to thank everyone who has helped me through this really rough year, and everyone who is just cool and awesome in general. I want to thank Ethan (my wonderful boyfriend), NamelessOctarian, BizarreEmerald, KitPlays, Nova, Ketrick, Tom Fulp, Imp, Nuka, Maspen15, Zteagh, everyone in the Lock Legion, Illiana, my family, ShrimpOnAStick, SomeGuyWithWifi, ClubFlash, everyone here on Newgrounds, EggzLegz, Toastroodz, anyone who has made amazing music this year, anyone who has made amazing music in general, anyone who is fighting for change and equality in the world, and anyone who is spreading positivity and peace. I may have missed some people, but just know that I thank you as well. Thank you everyone.

And I think that is it! I love you all, and let's have a great 2024!

-Jonah G.