I used to be a pretty avid fan of MLP: FiM. I was really eager to watch the episodes every week, and I drew plenty of fan art and participated in discussion and such; it was such an endearing little part of my life. Unfortunately, most people wouldn't have a 17 year old boy liking a show 'for little girls'. Pedophile, freak, fag, loser; you name it, they've called me it. People I thought I could trust and call friends would lash at me for bringing them up in groups, and I'd be looked down upon and made to feel less for watching it. Indeed, many of the people I introduced to the show were initially pretty caustic against me for it. Did I receive an apology? Not in my wildest dreams.
    Then, of course, there was the fellow fans. I met many of them, became friends with many of them... fell in love with a few of them. How many of those contacts didn't end in pain? One. I won't blame them for that, though, but the fact remains...
    Thinking back, most of my experience with this show is associated with ridicule and ostracism. The only time it didn't hurt was when I actually watched the episodes; that was when I could sort of escape all the shit around me and just enjoy things. But, all of this negativity started to wear on me. Every week was a little less exciting than the last, and eventually, I could barely be bothered to watch at all. I don't really care about it too much anymore;  not because I feel like it's had it's fair run in my heart and I've moved on, but because my will to keep it has been shot by all the pain that it brought with it. I still like the show, but barely. All the pressure, I've found, has caved in on me, and I can't enjoy it like I used to be able to. It's a pretty heartbreaking thing to see one's interests altered and jaded by the negative will of others, but I guess I'm not as strong as I thought I was.
    Oh well... I guess all those people got what they wanted.
    And yeah, I know it's fucking stupid to let other people alter what you like, but I can't watch it without feeling like I'm with my ex, or being secretive about it in fear of people being caustic.