I don’t have a lot to talk about for this update, in fact, mainly its just the thing in the title that needs discussion.

When I started blogging, I never really thought about joining a group. Blogging was and still is mainly a hobby. I have things that I want to write about, so I do. Whenever a new subject strikes my fancy, I write about it. What I mean to say is that I have done blogging up until this point for me. However, now things are a little bit different. As of yesterday, I am now apart of the group of bloggers known as OWLS

Who/What is OWLS

For those who have not heard, OWLS is a group of bloggers and writers who goals is as follows:

We are a group of otaku bloggers who promotes acceptance of all individuals regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and disability. We emphasise the importance of respect, kindness, and tolerance to every human being. Even though we come from all walks of life, each and every one of our amazing members are dedicated to our cause!

OWLS is also an acronym that stands for:

Otaku

Warriors for

Liberty and

Self-Respect

In order to spread this message of love and acceptance, the OWLS group picks a topic every month and asks its members to participate by writing something related to pop culture and anime about said topic.

Why did I join OWLS?

My main reasons for joining OWLS is two-fold.

First: Because I believe in their message. I, unfortunately, like many others, have had the displeasure of growing up in a fairly toxic political environment, in which hate, distrust in public institutions, and violence towards minority groups is at an all-time high. One of my wishes when it comes to joining the public discourse on certain issues is to make sure that people don’t become scapegoats for no reason, especially when the source of hardship for many comes from an unfair system that treats being poor and of a minority group like a disease. I hope that by sharing my thoughts on these issues through the medium of anime and pop culture, I can make even the smallest of differences.

Second: I like writing and talking to people. Yeah, not as noble as the first reason, but still the truth. Another great part of blogging is that I’ve been able to interact with a number of awesome people. Now, I can expand that circle of people even more.

BTW, my first piece as part of the OWLS group will be for the month of June, in which the topic, in honor of pride month, is pride. the prompt is as follows:

In honor of “Pride Month,” we will be discussing the word, “Pride” and its meaning. We will be exploring pop culture characters’ most satisfying and joyful achievements or skills that they possessed and whether or not these qualities could be seen as a positive or negative aspect in their personal lives and/or society.

It will be out on the 20th, so look forward to that.