Chapter 3, strip 15

Thank you so much for reading and following Kara's adventure, whether you've been here from the beginning or you only started today!

A year and a half ago, I decided I wanted to make a webcomic, so I mentioned the idea on Facebook. The amount and speed of positive responses that came on clinched it, and I took the leap. Now, all this time later, we've watched Kara in all her brashness and humour as she faced a dragon to became a hero. We've laughed, we've wanted to reach out and hug her, and we've cheered her on. And, through it all, we've loved her for exactly who she is because, let's face it, Kara's pretty darn awesome.

Sometimes, the story you create is the story you didn't know you need, and Kara's has definitely been the case for me. Her boldness, drama, and energy inspired and motivated me through the last year of my undergrad degree. She reminded me to be brave and that it's okay to fail. Through her, I learned how to get back up again, and that the things we're afraid of often aren't as scary as we think. That, no matter how big they are, we can solve our problems through kindness to ourselves and others.

Her story became a metaphor for my own struggle with perfectionism. Here I was, drawing this webcomic where none of the lines are straight, all the words are in my own uneven writing, and I had no idea for most of the story how it was going to end or even where it was going. When Kara ran from the dragon, I almost didn't want to go through with it. I wanted to be able to tell myself I could be perfect.

But that's never going to happen, so away Kara ran. And broke her ankle.

This gave me even more anxiety, and I really, really struggled with whether to take the story in this direction. I didn't want to admit that, not only was I imperfect, but that my imperfection has consequences. Negative ones. But I knew I had to face it and so it happened. It hurt to admit and I didn't know how to have peace with it so, when I was writing the part where Kara talks with her parents about what happened, I wrote for them the words I knew I needed most to hear.

When I drew the cover for the third chapter, I knew I was going to be okay. It's funny, in the about section on Bored Kid Comics' Facebook page, I wrote this: "The Message: Absolutely nothing. Bored Kid Comics are intended primarily for entertainment of multiple varieties. Any resulting life lessons are entirely accidental, and probably the result of characters being too smart for their own good." Looks like the same goes for comic creators. :P

And now here we are at the end. The frog is still a frog. Kara is still Kara. But, somewhere up in the mountains, a Chiropteran Dragon clutches a yellow paper crown and smiles. Here's to happy endings. :)

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