What "Following Your Bliss" Looks Like

January 25th, 2013

I came across my answer to this question: What has happened to you when you’ve followed your bliss? on Quora. Since it is absolutely related to Okazu, I wanted to share my answer with you:

Campbell talked about this line at length. “Follow Your Bliss”  wasn’t ever meant to be a bumper sticker, but a compulsion, something that the Hero HAS to do. It’s not easy, cute, fluffy-bunny stuff. It’s hard work, thankless and you can never go home again.

Yes, I’ve followed my bliss. It’s hard work, thankless and the new home I have made is full of amazing people. But it’s still work, every day. And when I die, no one will remember or care. I will be a footnote in a book, a sidebar discussion in a discussion and that’ll be my entire legacy. 3 paragraphs in a text no one will read.

***
I wanted you to know that, yes, I consider this endless promotion of a genre to fans who would suffocate it to death with their love a compulsion.

I cannot stop exhorting you to support the creators with money, to appreciate the riches you have now, when a decade ago you had so much less.

I will not stop writing reviews in hopes that you will buy or license to consume the content on a particular platform no matter how many excuses you have to justify not doing so.

I will continue to tell companies like Sentai to cease translating the word “Yuri” if they cannot find a less skeevey phrase than “girl on girl”. I will continue to rag at Seven Seas for never thinking to send me a review copy of their books – even the ones I worked on.

I will continue to comment on fanboys’ absurdly simplistic understanding of women.  I will be too opinionated and too rude for these poor, sensitive fanboys who are remarkably fragile for people who threaten to rape and kill me all the time.

I will continue to support the industry with loads of my money, because I fucking love Yuri. And if you love it, you’ll do the same thing. (And I’ll keep saying that.)

I will continue to spend 40 or more hours a week on reading, writing, researching, answering questions, working websites, projects and promotion.

When I die, no one will remember me or Okazu, because I will have not been the person who made any money on this, gained any recognition or lifetime achievement awards. It’ll probably kill me in the end.

But I have to do it, because that is what I have to do. Because I love it with a burning flame of passion that can’t be quenched.

This is what “Following Your Bliss” looks like.

8 Responses


  1. But I have to do it, because that is what I have to do. Because I love it with a burning flame of passion that can’t be quenched.

    That reminds me of my days in grad school. Are you sure you’re not working on a Ph.D. in Yuri-ology? :-)

    But, on a serious note, keep up the good work! The more people we encounter who are “following their bliss”, the more enjoyable and educational life is.

  2. @Michael – “Are you sure you’re not working on a Ph.D. in Yuri-ology?”

    It sometimes feels like it. I admit to specifically avoiding writing purely academic articles because blecch. But if my essays are a jumping off point for other people to do academic research, it’s worth it.

  3. Anonymous says:

    I’ll remember you or your ideas when you die. For sure.

  4. @Anonymous – for good or ill, huh? ^_^

  5. Anonymous says:

    “I will be too opinionated and too rude for these poor, sensitive fanboys who are remarkably fragile for people who threaten to rape and kill me all the time.”

    They threatened to rape and kill you?!

    After all you’ve said to stand up for poor, sensitive fanboys as your people?

    What a bunch of ingrates (and they’ll probably call me an anti-geek cheerleader-team-bitch bully for saying so).

  6. @Anonymous – Your check is in the mail. ^_^

    Yeah, women who have an opinion are targets everywhere, online and off. I don’t worry about it, people who say stuff like that are almost always the least likely to do anything. I have genuine pity for people who work themselves into a froth over something I said about a cartoon or comic book, all focused on me as a target, since I don’t think about them at all.

    The cool thing is that I’ve been able to reach people like you.I say it all the time – Okazu readers are *amazing.* ^_^

  7. Anonymous says:

    Oh please don’t say no one is going to remember you.
    I will *sniff*

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