I've sorta been celebrating my 21st birthday early. One of my presents was a three-day course on manga and anime at MCAD, and I finished the second day today.

In the past couple days, I have met and spoken with a real, honest-to-god manga artist (Tomoko Taniguchi), had my portfolio reviewed by a talent recruiter who has worked for just about every major company in the comics business (C.B. Cebulski) and was told that I had what it takes to make it in the industry by the same. I've learned quite a bit about the comics industry itself, as well as several ways of getting started. Tomorrow, I learn how to draw a page from start to finish using tips and tricks from the pros. I have learned so many valuable things in the past couple days that I'm surprised that the class cost a mere $90 non-credit. I also came home today after class to discover that my folks had splurged on pizza, and saved quite a bit of it for me. Today was the best day ever.

So, with my new-found motivation, hope and awesomeness I'll be getting back to work on 2170 on Monday. If I can pull together a large enough readership, I'll seriously consider taking it to a publisher. After hearing that I'm already well on my way to being able to go pro, I feel like I'm 20 feet tall, completely bulletproof and covered in chainsaws. It's an awesome feeling, knowing that all the seemingly misguided choices I made in my youth have led me to this point; there is no longer any doubt that I did not completely screw up my life, and that I have a shot at making a living doing the thing I love.

I'm so damn excited I'm tempted to run out into the street and make a joyful noise as I celebrate by good fortune. Of course, being the cold fish I am, I wouldn't. That doesn't mean that I'm not tempted.