Hey. I just wanted to remind everyone that a year ago I went through a major life change. When I started The Rat Guru, I was engaged, living with my fiance in a tiny apartment, and had a job. After a while I was able to make YouTube my main priority. I was able to release a large number of videos and do nothing but that. Then, I opened my store. Since then I have been up to my eyeballs in harnesses, which slowed down the frequency of my video uploads. Regardless, I had my entire life planned. Last year my life fell apart. I realized my relationship was extremely unhealthy (you might even say abusive) and I was extremely unhappy. I left my fiance, leaving me with over 30 rats, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and nowhere to live. While, yes, it was my own decision, there's no handbook for starting your life over after leaving an abusive situation. All of my routines that I had spent the previous 4 years developing had gone out the window LITERALLY overnight. I went from having every day of every week planned out, to living in a state of not knowing what's going to happen next. Last April I moved in with Emily, her parents, and her brother. I've never had a family before and this was a lot to take in. On top of this I had to set up my new bedroom, rebuild my office and craft area, and slowly get back into a routine again. The move, change in daily routine, having a bunch of new people in my life--all while still having to fill harness orders, make videos, monitor my group, take care of my own rats.... well that's enough to drive anyone crazy. Although I was content with my new situation, my night terrors came back after being in remission for over 6 years. The stress of such a drastic life change triggered my night terrors which triggered my anxiety which affected my ability to work. I wasn't slacking off, I was just going through a HUGE change, and I had to rebuild my life from the ground up, and my unconscious brain was not helping reduce my stress levels. Now, I am doing SOOOOOOO much better. My night terrors are gone and I've got a pretty decent groove going. I'm happier than ever and I feel like myself for the first time since I met my ex-fiance. I'm able to balance my work with my recreation fairly well again. A few months ago I decided to start writing my book. It's coming along great and at this rate it should be done before 2019 is over. The book, however, does get in the way of my videos because writing a section of a book takes way longer than writing a video script. Thus, until I'm done with the book, I won't be able to post more than 1-2 videos a month. However, the end result will be worth it. I promise! Things are going extremely well now. I honestly couldn't ask for anything better than how my life is now. This past year has been a long, hard road to metamorphosis. You may not hear from me much until I am finished with my book, but afterwards I'll go back to making videos as often as possible. I just wanted to thank everyone who has stuck by me in the past year and didn't lose faith in me. A year ago I was in such a terrible place mentally and emotionally, and I needed my friends and supporters more than ever. Some people unsubscribed, deleted their Patreon pledges, or stopped talking to me altogether; failing to realize they were leaving me when I needed them the most. For those who stuck around through 2017, I can't possible repay my gratitude. For those who plan to stick with me through 2018, I appreciate you more than you will ever know. Love, Keaton
