Where do I begin? The last 365 days have been a total whirlwind. It's honestly hard to believe it's been a full year since I have wrote this story. Since that was the one thing I wanted to be since I was 14 years old, I never thought I would be able to achieve that at 21. But - I owe it all to all of you.

Many of you don't know this but if it wasn't for all of the continued support, I probably wouldn't have followed through with actually posting my book. Putting my writing out here was scary... it still is. A year ago I took a gamble and posted on Army Amino how I was near completion of my very first - serious - story I would want to complete. Only a few reacted to the post and I thought to myself, "who is even going to read this thing?" I questioned my writing and the idea of posting it online for a while. Then as I dove deeper into this The Forgotten Dad, I decided to I would publish the first chapter unedited on my Wattpad account to see what would happen. I don't know what I was expecting - well, I do, I was expecting people to not even read it. So when so many people reached out saying they wanted to read more, I was in a state of disbelief.

Thank you to those who read my first chapter and asked for more. You gave me the courage and the belief that I could really do this.

Thank you to those who continued to encourage me throughout the entire chapters.

Thank you to those who recommend it to their friends and continue to spread the word.

Thank you to everyone who has taken time out of their day to read it.

Thank you to everyone who has sent me honest and kind words - it means more than you know.

You've inspired me to continue to go after my dreams. You've brightened dark days. You helped me to believe that I can do anything I set my mind to and you've helped me achieve what I once thought was impossible.

For that and for all of you - I will be forever grateful.

Since today is the first anniversary of THE FORGOTTEN DAD, I would like to know if this story has taught you some lesson life or inspire you to be someone or to do something you always wanted to do.

Share your stories in the comments section. XD

- by shirawrote, 10th July 2018