The sadness of the community...

So I'd like to begin this post with a little memo that has little to do with the post. I never EVER left permanently and just needed some time away to get away from the hate comments, and need to reply to them, and honestly neutralize the situation by taking away the subject of the hate. So I came back earlier than planned in honour of Dolloween (Who could miss THAT?) to upload my movie soon. Also I'm babysitting right now, the kids are asleep and I'm utterly bored... So now on to the point of this:
Lately we've all noticed 2 things:
1) The recent outbreak of people leaving YouTube.
2) The recent campaign of anti-quitters who swear to stay forever.
So I was on AGlovejess's channel this afternoon, and I was pretty sad to read that she's gone forever-ish. We were friends from the beginning but of course I still talk to her, but I miss having her around. We were the first generation. Back in the old days that so many of you missed out on when there was hardly 1000 of us and we were all fairly close, little kids who made crappy, and yet hilariously fun videos for ourselves and our friends. It was lovely. To be honest, I'd thought I was super popular and famous when I had 300 subscribers. That was a HUGE deal way back when. Anyways, We had made a valid point that related to so many of the girls who had left recently. Although she LOVED YouTube, and us, she has just grown apart from her dolls. As we get older, depending on the heavier workload we get in school, the sudden parties, more intense after school activities, we find ourselves losing the time we used to have to make videos, and as we use our dolls less, and less, we also lose that magic that they used to come accompanied with. It's sad, but you can't blame anything for beginning to like something less than you used to. Most girls that left would never sell their dolls, as they still love them, just not in the same way. These girls begin to love them for the memories, the connection to their childhood, and just the fact that our AGs are actually quite adorable, instead of the "I want to use my dolls all the time and make videos with them and buy them things" that most of us have. There is no set age for this transition, and some of us never lose this magic at all, but many girls do. Usually this begins in high school, as scary as it is. But remember, you don't have to go through that if it's not what you want. Girls only go through that because they feel it will make them happier, so if you're happy with your dolls, be all means, continue with them! I am. Anyways, the reason we're seeing so many girls leave is because I guess you could say, they've graduated. YouTube can be related to school in many ways... So back in 2007-2008, the first AGTubers started, and we were the only ones until around late 2009- early 2010, when everything really sprang up. We were the originals, and many of us at the time were just kids. I was 11, and lots of girls were 12-13. As time went on we were all loving it, and many of us really picked up views for simply being around so long and popping up to people because we were few. Therefor, people noticed us all. So time goes by, and like Toy Story taught us (tears to Jessie...) kids move on and begin to like new things. Not for any reason,just because they do. So a lot of these old "famous" girls are leaving because well, like their channels, they're old too. So theres a wave of graduates, all moving on at once because that's the stage of life they're in. Not all of them are doing it, but many are. It's sad, and it seems like a lot, but if you think about it, it's just a generation passing. I love so many of these girls, and it breaks my heart to think of AGTube changing this way, but it's time for new girls to love what they do, make something amazing, and I suppose, replace their incredible, and near irreplaceable videos. I'd never want a single one to leave, and I too was an advocate for the anti-quitters movement, but if it's what makes them happy, no matter how upsetting it is, we have to let them live their lives. They only get 1. Now this doesn't mean quit whenever. If it's over bullying or because you THINK you're too old, then don't go. We're a strong community and will support our sisters who are fighting off lowlife scum, and if you simply believe you're too old, or leaving because of your age, that's not the right reason. Leave if you aren;t happy here anymore. Not because you're too old. You're never too old until you feel as though you'd be happier gone. Nothing makes AGs immature, so don't let them fool you into believing that. What makes them so immature? NOTHING! If you love your dolls, and you love what you do, never go. Ever. We all need you here. So I thought we were falling apart, but as I think about it, we're not. The older channels are just stepping don for the new ones to move in. It makes me sad because I basically grew up on YouTube watching their loveable videos, and I slightly fear that it won't be the same but this gives all you quieter channels a fighting chance. Put in effort, make incredible videos, follow advice given, and just make something that is as good as what they've done, so we can all be happy and continue watching. I'm going to miss having the girls I started with around but if they feel bad here, I won't hold them back. So girls, let's pick it up, quit judging people and make AGTube the amazing, happy place I came to. Just work hard on your videos. We can all do something incredible, so let's do it. So to any of you old friends, I miss you a ton, and visit occasionally, and to the newbies, do something great. You all have talent. Life continues to roll and move on, and we can't stop it just as we can't stop a ball from rolling down a slippery slope, so let's just make the best out of what we have. We'll never get these moments of moping back, so let's not mope. Let's be happy about what's here, and just make it perfect. I won't be leaving in the near future, and I don't condone anyone else doing so, so everyone on breaks, let's all get back to what we love and just start something beautiful. Nobody should leave if they don't want to. Yeah, I took a break, but honestly, it settled flaring drama as I hoped it would and now I'm back and better than ever. No more breaks. No more bullying. No more forced leaving. Love.
-Ali