Happy Cake Day & all the best <3
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Happy cake day mate. We'll all mark this day and want to hear how your trip went, that you validated your studies, that health and morale went up in exactly 365 days from now. Or anytime sooner of course!
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Wow man! Egyptology? That's dope af! :D Happy Cake-Day for you and Dont Worry, things will get better
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Thank you! :)
and yes, Egyptology is indeed dope af. 8)
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If you haven't yet, you should research the Rota Fortunae (Wheel of Fortune). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rota_Fortunae
I see evidence of it everywhere in my life and those around me.
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Happy cake day! You're a great person, you're doing so much even despite your health problems!
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Happy cake day, Kyle. You're doing some amazing things. I've always been fascinated with ancient Egypt. As a kid I bought papyrus, the game scarabs, an ankh, and some other things because it was so neat to me. I also watched many shows about it. What a fascinating time. :)
Thank you for being you and being so open. I wish you all the best and sincerely hope things go well for you. Change is difficult and unknowns can be scary. Please take care of yourself, Kyle. The world is a better place with you here. :)
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Happy Cake Day! I hope everything will get better. I like what you're studying :) Best wishes.
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Oh wow, you've been through quite a lot! I love how you are so open. ***"I want us to have hope for the potential we have, not despair over our faults, because at the end of the day we're only human." What a touching statement! If you ever need anything, whether to chat or otherwise, just add me my friend! Hope you're grades are good this year! :)
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Happy cake factory day! Thanks for sharing your story. Hang in there! I've gone through periods (okay, decades) of depression and really bad thoughts. Happiness and optimism don't come naturally to me, but it's like a muscle that you have to build up with practice and exercise.
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Hey, you seem like a really good guy and I can tell you've had a tough time. I know it will be difficult, but you should let your close friends and family know what you've been going through so they can provide you with support. Anyways, good luck with your interview, enjoy your time in the Philippines, and thanks for sharing all these great games with us!
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Thanks for sharing the cake and a bit about yourself, Kyle! You seem like a strong person to me, I wish you luck with the interview and meeting better people.
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Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem -
Also as someone w/ Major Clinical Depression, have you been put on any type of medicine?
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I've been prescribed the antidepressant Fluoxetine/Prozac, but that was only brought in recently, so still adjusting. :)
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Yeah, that's going to take at least two weeks to kick in- some people don't even really notice when it does - In my case, I definitely noticed because I went from having repetitive negative thought loops to feeling pretty okay one day after two weeks of taking it. Try not to worry about your friends right now, because a lot of what you are feeling in relation to them sounds like the anxiety and self esteem issues that come along with having serious depression. I used to think on the drive home from spending time with friends that they all secretly hated me (which was clearly not the case - but you couldn't convince me otherwise).
Anyways, hang in there, once the meds kick in it will get better.
Whatever you do, in the future do NOT take Effexor - it has hideously awful withdrawal symptoms, and you will basically end up addicted. At this point I can't go a day without taking it. (Effexor is another SSR anti depressant, forgot to mention - made it sound like it was a recreational drug)
Good luck!
(Edit) Also, get ready to yawn A LOT
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Thanks for the advice, and the words. :) I know how you feel. I hate how my brain can work sometimes, as in hindsight I always wonder how I could have ever thought they hated me to begin with.
I know they know it's not really me though, and they do come back. I spoke to them today in the end, as fate would have it, so today has been a really great Cake Day. :D
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There's nowhere near enough giveaways for Duck Dynasty on SGs, heheh. Happy cake day and bump!
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I'm sorry to read that lately things are not going well and I can understand that you sometimes're tired of fighting (even more so when you have to fight surely enough).
But as someone has already advised you in another answer, surrender is an definitive solution to a temporary problem.
No matter how black that today can be the horizon, life, just as fast it can worsen, also can improve.
It would be great that you share these feelings with someone close to you, a friend / family member who fully understands your situation and can help you solve this kind of bumps more easily.
Sincerely, I hope things improve soon for you in all areas of your life.
Happy cake day :)
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Happy Cake Day.
Thank you for the giveaways, and thank you for sharing your story with us.
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Kyle, your honesty and openness is shocking, but in the best possible way. When I first saw this thread title, I thought I'd be trying to dig up another pic of a blonde Cleopatra for you and wishing you a happy cake day... and then I read what you wrote... and then read it again.
Words aren't coming easily to me right now, but I wanted to share this in the hopes that you might draw some strength and inspiration from it. (You can also find the full-length version on youtube, but I thought I'd start you off with a sample.)
Life Without Limbs: Nick Vujicic - Never Give Up
Add me on Steam if you ever need to talk. :)
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Thanks CallMeKap. :) I've seen Nick Vujicic before - great guy. :)
Thank you for taking the time to read. :) <3
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First, happy cake day!
Umm .... not sure what to say really. Sorry, but I do wish you all the best.
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Thank you for sharing... Wish you all the best! :)
Oh, and happy cake day!
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Hey there folks,
So I'm pretty sure most of you won't know who I am, and that's okay. For those of you who have noticed me around SteamGifts though - probably most likely through the giveaways I do each month - I reached my first "Cake Day" today. So I thought I might take some time to reflect on what has happened over the past year for me, both in terms of my time here on SteamGifts and in the much larger scheme of things, as well as where I hope to be by this time again next year.
For those of you who intend to read on, prepare for a long read. As it is my "Cake Day", I'll break my usual habit of making a big batch of giveaways each month and instead make a few short GAs for the occasion, which will be linked as follows:
Feel free to share the links around for celebration purposes. :)
Wait, who even are you?
Good question. My name's Kyle, I'm a male second-year undergraduate student at University College London studying Ancient History and Egyptology. I'm disabled, afflicted with Cerebal Palsy, which leaves me without the ability to walk and thus I have to use a wheelchair. I love video games (obviously, that's why I'm here), but I also enjoy reading, writing, debating and bonding with others over a variety of topics.
I'm a soft soul, and I have no shame in admitting that and letting that be who I am. It's why I'm so charitable - even though one could easily argue I have much better things I could spend my money on - and I enjoy bringing something nice to other people. So that's why I'm here.
If you want to know more about me, just ask away. I'll try and answer any and all questions as best I can. :)
SteamGifts, the Past Year and I: A Reflection
The easiest thing to do to start, I think, is look at the statistics. So, since joining over a year ago, I've given out over 350+ games, winning back just shy of the same amount. I'm currently Level 8 (8.52 to be exact), and I've been added to 336 whitelists as opposed to 10 blacklists. I've been added to many groups as well as removed from a few over time.
While I haven't talked and socialised very much with a lot of the people I've met, I've come to respect a lot of people just by reading what they say and seeing what they do. There are many wonderful people on this site, and I'm glad I've been able to meet just some of them. For those who've blacklisted me and / or removed me from their groups, I can respect that. I don't hold any grudges. I do enter a lot of giveaways without saying much, and when I do win I usually just keep it to a "Thank You <3" unless I feel I have something to say. I know some people don't like that, and I respect that. I do.
But it doesn't mean my thanks and gratitude are not sincere, and most of the time I don't say things because I don't feel like I have anything to say, and I feel it would be an insult if I was to say something that was half-assed or not sincere.
Still, I'm grateful for all the opportunities and successes I've had, both here on SteamGifts and in my real life.
In the past year I've made so many friends, some of them very close. I've learnt so many new things both inside and outside of my degree studies, and I've achieved many things. I recently got elected the President of my Model United Nations Society. This coming Friday I have an interview to potentially join the British Museum Friends Advisory Council, which takes me a step closer to my dream of one day being the Director, a dream which I've held since the age of ten. From the friends I've made I'll finally be escaping Europe this summer, going to the Philippines for a week in July just to enjoy the sun, get drunk off my ass and have fun times.
Warning: This is where things might get a bit deep
Things haven't been all that great though. As a result of my disability I've got a deteriorating body condition. This year I've been diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, as well as clinical depression, after three suicide attempts across November 2015 - January 2016. Those close friends? I'm scared I'm losing them. Even now some of them are refusing to talk to me, and while our mutual friends insist to me that they will be back and won't leave, I'm still incredibly consumed by the fear. I've always struggled to make friends because of who (or perhaps what) I am, and these people are some of the closest people I've ever been to. I know that things change in life, and that we do lose some people along the way, but I don't want to lose these people. I can't bare the thought.
Why am I telling you guys all of this? Maybe it's because I don't really know any of you, so I'm not afraid of the reaction you guys will have. Most of my family - and still a good chunk of my friends - don't know that I've been through all of this. I still don't know how to tell them. I will have to tell them eventually, obviously, but I have to find a way.
So, where to go from here?
I still plan to do giveaways on SteamGifts, at least for the time being. I may have to step away from it one day, but I'll keep on giving for as much as I can. Don't worry about my finances: I always keep an eye on it, and I wouldn't be doing this if I couldn't afford the expense. So let the gifts keep on coming!
As for me, due to my illness I'll be repeating my second year again this coming year. I don't mind that, as it's the most sensible option if I want to get the grades I actually deserve. My department has been incredibly loving and supportive, and I'm grateful to them for that. I don't know what will happen between me and my friends. I'm hopeful things will even out and we'll start talking again soon, If we do, I'm trying to use my worries right now to drive me to do the right thing. I'll want us to focus on all the things that we could do and would like to do together, instead of all the things we shouldn't be doing. I want us to have hope for the potential we have, not despair over our faults, because at the end of the day we're only human.
We shouldn't hate ourselves for that.
Now, enough talking! Enjoy the giveaways, enjoy the cake, just sit back and have fun! Here's to the next year of gifting and fun times. <3
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