Shout It Out. It's real, guys. All of it. [Warning: Contains a bit of nudity]

Over on deviantArt, there is a project called "Shout It Out" that has been going on for a very long time, started by this person. In turn, so many have followed and done their own versions.

Basically, as she puts it in her Artist's Comments: "Someone told me once, that she believed we make life hard for ourselves by keeping things bottled up inside. Whether it be due to shame, embarrassment, fear, pride or some other emotion we don't share the things that are on our hearts like we should. We wallow in them and never realize that everyone else feels the same way. Our conflicts, our dreams, and the things that make us who we are should be free to be spoken out loud."

At this point, if you are self-righteous or easily insulted, please leave. Please, please, please leave. This wasn't easy for me to do. It took me a long time to get comfortable talking about any of this and a bunch of slamming and insulting will hurt more than anything.

I have actually done one of these before, but it was very sterile. Obviously, I wasn't ready to go that deep, yet. This one is a lot rougher, a lot dirtier, and a lot more truthful. Also, I've been through a bit more sh-crap and, though I've gotten through it, there are some things that still have a profound effect on me.

Also, you'll see that mine is full of arrows. As I was doing this, I realized that even the honest truths weren't the entire truth. There was more to be said. So even though I was planning on having only one or two arrows, the more I looked, the more I realized how much more there was to the story that I needed to tell. By doing this, I hit on a lot more messy crud than I even knew I had.

So.... Here it is: Shout It Out

In all honesty, I thoroughly encourage you to do one, if you like. This was a cleansing experience, and I know I felt a hella lot better afterward.

This is actually the second version. The first one, the 'rough draft,' was all in black and white and the girl I'd drawn was in a slightly different pose. A more pained one. After some reflection, I realized that pain didn't fit with me anymore, so I did this one, instead.

I would post this on dA to join the ranks with the rest of them, but...I actually know people IRL on deviantArt. And that would be awkward as hell. I only know one person here, and she never logs on (if she were to see this....Oh, hell. Half of this crap is about her...).

So, if you're curious...or bored....jump on over to deviantArt and put 'Shout It Out' into the big, white search bar. They're fascinating works, and you feel so close to the artists. The ones there are all done on the computer, but I was far too lazy/bored/anti-computer (at that point in time) to do that. Plus, writing it down, seeing it in my own handwriting, and holding the finished work in my hand had a much greater meaning to me.

*Also, as a bit of a side note, I scanned this in two parts and put it together using Photoshop. Not easy. I'm skiiiillllled, yo! =D

Okay, so....

*deep breath*

*flinch*

*stalling: micro-editing, flipping uselessy between open tabs, thinking and rethinking...*

*...maybe I shouldn't...?*

*Submit*