I've been a part of this club since April of 2010. For an entire year I was on forums, chatting and laughing with the rest of you. I gradually grew out of it, and found myself visiting this site less and less, to the point where it had been months since I had been here.
Last night, my brothers took out an official Penguins DVD I had bought years ago. As I laughed with them during the episode "It's About Time", I remembered all the good times I had had here. The art, the craziness, the absolute insanity of the fans, but most of all, the joy.
I decided to check back in on this club, and you know what I found?
That same joy that had been there three years ago is still here today. Sure, most of you are new faces. Most of the people I knew are long gone. But the fact remains that you enjoy this show, and you aren't afraid to be here to celebrate it. Some of you come from difficult situations, and this is your moment of relaxation and stability during troubled storms. Others of you are more fortunate and come here as mere recreation. Some of you ship characters, such as Skilene and Dorski. Others of you just like chatting about episodes and going-ons at nickelodeon.
In the end, we are all here for the Penguins. The show that brought us together and left us wanting more of them every saturday morning. The show that gave some of us a reason to be sociable to others that we didn't even know, complete strangers with one common interest.
I look back on my times in the fandom one last time, wondering where those experiences had gone, and I realize that they never left. I can still feel the passion of this club. Your joy and your togetherness are what truly separates you from other fandoms.
I will admit, I've found other stuff much more interesting than the Penguins of Madagascar during the three years I've been gone. I've graduated, obtained my Eagle Scout Award, and even went to Haiti twice. But fanpop is one of my roots, and I will always come back home.
To you, the fans of The Penguins of Madagascar.
Stay true. Stay zoo.
