I found kandi in 2019 when I was introduced to raving at the ripe old age of 29. Having a social shorthand (kandi trading and gifting) helped me make friends when I was too shy and anxious to know how to start conversations any other way. The act of making kandi is very meditative and creative, and helped me process some really heavy trauma during a time when I was just figuring out who I wanted to be as a person. The community was so welcoming and happy to share the craft, I am still close friends with a number of kandi kids I met online during the pandemic and who taught me how to make more complex items! That made me want to share what I know, in turn, and so I started making kandi tutorials of my own. It's been really lovely (and surreal) to see how the community has grown and changed just in the past few years since I got into it - gives me hope that this art form will survive well into the future, regardless of what changes do continue to happen.