**FINAL AUTHOR'S NOTE**
Hey guys. I know I haven't been very responsive on here lately, but I've been taking the time I needed to make some decisions. And I'm sad to announce that after much debate, and many long conversations, I've decided to leave Wattpad for good.
I sent out a post a few weeks back talking about people stealing from me. I was PISSED, saddened, angered, disappointed, but most of all, hurt. I, like many creators that I know, feel a certain bond or connection to my work. I love it. You can say that I'm IN LOVE with what I do. It's an attachment that really is unexplainable. It feels like an addiction.
A person's creativity is their own. Everybody comes from different backgrounds, cultures, neighborhoods, families, and everyone is different. The things that I've learned or seen or been through or felt in my life belong to me. Those are my memories and my experiences, and that's what I use to write my stories. So when I openly share my work with you all (which is like sharing parts of me) and someone comes along and steals from it, that's the ultimate slap in the face. Especially if you considered that person a friend.
I've had many Readers ask me who I was talking about in the post I sent out, and I refuse to say. One (thievin-ass) girl shut down her account after I sent out the post. And she should have. She should've been damn ashamed of herself. I hate to quote Mariah, but “Stealing is wrong. Period. Didn't they teach you that in kindergarden?”
But the girl who closed her account isn't the only one who I've seen take material from me. Like I said, I've been seeing it for a while, it's just that the night before I sent out the post, I saw something that really pissed me off and I finally had to say something.
I didn't say anything the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th time I recognized my work in other peoples stories, cause me myself, I don't like to confront people and talk things out. I don't like to talk about how I feel and hear how another person feels. I'm more comfortable with keeping it all bottled up until I explode. And when I explode... I fuckin explode. It's no words, just action.
So I just can't continue to post my work up to a site where I know people are stealing from me. That would make me a fool to do such a thing. I've been foolish to do it all this time, but every woman reaches her breaking point, and I've reached mine.
My grandmother use to tell me every morning before I went to school, “Don't take no wooden nickels.” And basically that means, “Don't take no shit from nobody.” And me being in an environment where I know people are stealing from me, would mean I'm taking wooden nickels. And I can't do that. So I gotta go.
But it feels like the whole “urban” community on Wattpad is going to shit, anyway. Everything is all the same. When I first started posting up on here, there really weren't as many “urban” writers as there are now. But somewhere along the line, there was an explosion of teenagers (doing a bad job at) pretending to be adults and writing about big girl things (that they clearly know nothing of). I'm 27 years old. I didn't like silly little girls when I was in high school, and there's absolutely no way I'll make room for them in my life now. This just isn't the place for me.
I honestly feel two kinda ways about leaving. One side of me feels bad because I know that since I first started uploading my work here, I've gained some really loyal Readers. And I appreciate each and every one of you, I really do. So I feel bad because you all have held me down for a long time and now you have to suffer the consequences of other people's (thieving) actions.
But the other part of me feels like there's nothing else I can do. It hurts, cause I'ma miss you ladies, but leaving is what I have to do. But I can walk away with my head held high, because I know I gave 150% to each and every chapter I ever put up. I never half-stepped when it came to my writing.
I only posted up the last chapter of FIREWORKS because I promised I would, and I owed it to the Readers who've been following the story from way back. I had plans of re-writing FIREWORKS Part 1, then completing Part 2, then finishing Sparkle Baby, then writing The Complex Book 2. And I know there are many of you who loved those stories and wanted to know the endings (and I wanted to find out what was gonna happen, too), but that won't be happening, because I won't be uploading anything else of mine to Wattpad.
I won't be uploading, but I will still be reading/monitoring. So to all you sneaky lil bitches, I have my eyes on you and I won't be taking em off anytime soon. And when I catch you again, I'm calling you out (by name).
And to all my Readers... if you all see something in someone's story that you think was taken from me, please PM me and tell me about it.
So for the final time, I wish you all nothing but the best. May you reach much success in whatever it is you're striving for in life. Don't give up on whatever it is you want to do or become. Work really hard for it. Believe in yourself. Dream big. And don't take no wooden nickels.
So until we meet again, Ryan Taylor is signing off for the very last time. Wish me luck on my journey. And even though my stories and characters are gone from Wattpad, I hope they won't soon be forgotten.
And don't forget about ME! Remember my name... I'm Ryan T Gahdammit!!
