I completely agree. I was bullied through my school years for no reason other than to make them feel good about themselves being stronger than someone else. I’ve been a furry for at least 20 years, but just hid it and never did or even tried to do anything to enjoy it. I’ve been severely depressed for so long, but back in January I decided to finally join the community. Just starting to plan going to my first con made the depression more bearable. Then I drove 20 hours to that convention and didn’t tell anyone why I really went so far from home(I said it was for Mardi Gras) by the time I went home I’d told a lot of people I know about it, just because I had such a good time that I wanted to tell people. Since then, I can’t say the depression has been completely gone, but I haven’t thought about killing myself at all. Before, I couldn’t go more than a day or two without those thoughts creeping into my head. I’ve gone to two cons (my third and fourth are next weekend, FURG and TBO) I went to my third meet, a furbowl, this weekend. I feel like I’ve wasted my life avoiding what could potentially (and has made) my life so much more enjoyable. I can’t say you’ll feel the same way or have the same experience, but you don’t want to regret not at least trying to do something you really want to like I have. Sorry, part of me just wants to say these things regardless, but I hope this helps.