Being a fan editor was my biggest secret when I was a teenager. My feed was filled with How To Train Your Dragon edits and low pitched audios(back then, your edit would get copyrighted by Instagram if you hadn’t adjusted your music’s frequency). The community was thriving and editinggroups were all the rage. It was my safe little corner of the internet. I imagine this space used to look like my teenage bedroom. The purple wall washidden behind my bookshelf and How To Train Your Dragon posters covered my cupboard doors. My laptop screen was the only light illuminatingmy room. It was comforting and peaceful. Until one day, an old friend of mine came across my account. It was as if he had been snooping aroundand noticed the light shining under my door. He barged in without knocking. Denial. Denial. Denial. I refused it was me and I doubt he believed it. Inthe end, the topic was let go. A massive block list consisting of all my friends was created that day. A year later, excitement was buzzing through myscreen. How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World was being promoted for it’s cinema release and edits were flooding my feed. Any advertisementI would come across would be uploaded to my Instagram story. I got really excited one day, because I found one at my local shopping centre.Somebody who followed me swiped up and told me she was from the area. The term ‘it’s a small world’ doesn’t hit much until you experience it.I couldn’t believe that someone local was following my secret fan editing account. The world got even smaller when we realised we went to the sameschool. I won’t lie, it felt a little suffocating. I had managed to keep my account a secret for so long. Now, there was a chance it would be discovered bymy friends and peers. Her profile picture formed into a familiar face when I had a closer look. I remembered all the spots at school I had seen her at—my locker (numerous times) and the pathway between the woodwork and creative arts buildings. I still remember the day I introduced myself. It was anearly morning at school and I was standing at my locker. I noticed her in the corner of my eye with her friend. A few negative thoughts raced through myhead. Did she think my edits are bad? Had she been making fun of me with her friends? I don’t know what struck me, but I ended up facing her.“Are you (I forgot her name.)?” I asked. “Yes,” she answered. For some dumb reason, I took out my hand for her to shake. “I’m (I said my username).” A smile lit up on her face and it gave light to mine. Because of her, my feelings towards fan editing shifted that day. I didn’t want to keep it a secretanymore and I haven’t since. Before I go, I want to place a star right here. Not literally! It’s a writing quirk of mine. I call them my ‘star stamps’. Youcan find them scattered throughout my written works and I didn’t want to leave it out of this one. They’re very important to me. This will be the onlystar you can find within my projects with iheartfanedits. And yes, I can hear you softly knocking on my old bedroom door. You’re welcome to come in.There’s nothing to hide now

—@nightfurysmoon