Goodbyes Are Always the Hardest - by Robert Wheeler (May 4th, 2005)

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that so much would come from this tiny little website. It all started as an idea in my head. "I wonder when someone is going to come along and make a Sailor Moon Uncensored like DBZ Uncensored?" I thought. Time passed, and nothing ever sprouted up. So, me and my insane 17 year old mind decided to take matters into my own hands and do all the hard work myself. To be honest, it was nothing more than an idea. Never did I think I'd actually DO IT. Nearly 4 years and countless hours in front of a computer later, Sailor Moon Uncensored is one of the most comprehensive and most popular Sailor Moon site still in existence. It's truly amazing. Not only that, but so much else has come from this site. Shortly after I decided to do Sailor Moon Uncensored I invited my friends Tiffany Wood and Dan Bednarski to help me out with the project. Now, I consider them more than just dear friends. They're like family. They've supported me when I needed support, and I hope I've been able to do the same for them in their trials. And lets not forget the many other friendships I've forged through this site within the past 4 years. It's awe inspiring. That's why it's going to be so hard to say goodbye. This past Friday (April 29th, 2005), I recieved in my mailbox a mission call from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It told me that I was to serve as a missionary in the Macon, Georgia mission, and that I would be serving for a period of 24 months. I was told to report to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo, Utah, on July 20th, 2005. Rewind to October of 2003. Now, just so you all know, I haven't been a Latter-Day Saint (LDS or 'Mormon') all my life. In October of 2003 I attended my friend Kirsten's baptism into the church. It was their that I ran into some missionaries. I had met these particular missionaries before, and had gotten along with them well. They asked me if I was willing to hear their message about Jesus Christ. To be honest, I wasn't that interested, but I liked the guys and I figured it was a good opportunity to ask about all those 'weird' things you hear about Mormons all the time. Low and behold, Latter-Day Saints aren't as weird as the world makes them out to be. Not only that, the things they were saying were things I had always believed in anyways. Were they truly the restored church of Jesus Christ and did they hold the fullness of the gospel? It seemed like it, and I prayed many nights and asked God if what the LDS church taught was true. I was baptized January 10th, 2004. Honestly, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. After becoming a member of the church, my whole outlook on life changed. Before I found myself in a rut of bad choices, bad friends, and depression. Now, things were looking brighter. Not only that, but the spiritual blessings and promises that were made to me that I thought were purely "theological" and not ACTUAL things, were real. I was convinced that this truly was THE church of Jesus Christ. With each day that passes, now almost a year and a half that I've been in the church, my testimony grows and strengthens. To all of you that read this, I urge you to seek out missionaries in your area from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. If nothing else, just to hear their message, and then decide for yourself what to do with that message. I promise if you have an open heart, their message can touch you just as it touched me. I'm very greatful to my missionaries who taught me about the gospel and the way they affected my life. Both have returned home from their missions, but I still keep in touch with both of them and consider them my good friends. Some of you might remember a trip I took to Finland in the summer of 2004. That was to hang out with Mikko Laitinen, one of the missionaries that taught me (who I knew as Elder Laitinen when he was in Vegas). I wanted the opportunity to affect people's lives just as they had touched mine. This is why I applied to serve a full-time 2 year mission. And this brings us to the present. Unfortunately, one of the things that goes along with serving a full-time mission is the total seperation from the world. No TV. No radio. No movies. No calling home. No talking to friends back home. Limited internet (for e-mail only, and only once a week at most). No girlfriends. It's a complete and total devotion to the gospel. As you can imagine, Sailor Moon Uncensored cannot go on with me while I serve a full-time mission. Thus, it must go on without me, and I must say goodbye to a place that I hold so dear. This site has given me so many great memories. I can honestly say that this site literally has loads of blood, sweat, and tears within its cracks and crevices. It has been a lot of hard work, but it has also been a lot of fun too, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity that I had to work on it. So what does the future hold in store? Well, like I said earlier, I will not be leaving until July 20th. As of right now, that means I have a good 2 1/2 or so months left. I have 1 comparison sitting in my mailbox, which I hope to finish once finals pass. After that, I will be handing off the duties of comparisons FULLY to Dan. He's done an AMAZING job so far, so no need to fear =). So is SMU dead? By all means no. Tiff and Dan will still be here and will make sure that SMU is here for all your viewing pleasures. And never fret. I will return. July of 2007. Until then, goodbye all. It's been fun. I love you all, and I hope you've enjoyed the work that we've done.

Other Editorials

Why Fan Translations Are Still Necessary - by Dan Bednarski (May 16th, 2011) Sailor Moon Re-launch in North America: What I'd Like to See - by Dan Bednarski (January 22nd, 2011) Can we start to put an end to the stupidity? - by Dan Bednarski (September 19th, 2010) Goodbyes Are Always the Hardest - by Robert Wheeler (May 4th, 2005) Goodbye SOS. Good Riddance or Fond Farewell? - by Robert Wheeler (December 16th, 2004) The Trouble With Whiners - by Robert Wheeler (October 10th, 2004) Uncut Sailor Moon: Worth the Wait? - Part 2 - by Dan Bednarski (January 6th, 2004) Uncut Sailor Moon: Worth the Wait? - Part 1 - by Dan Bednarski (September 23rd, 2003) Disliking Vs. Hating - by Robert Wheeler (April 3rd, 2002) The Twelve Dubs of Christmas - by Tiffany Wood (December 23rd, 2001) Optimum Productions? Flagrant False Advertising... - by Robert Wheeler (September 3rd, 2001) The Anime Translation and American Society Problem - by Dan Bednarski (August 6th, 2001) Pioneer's First SMS Release: Heart Collection I - by Dan Bednarski (March 5th, 2001) Annoyance: A Letter to the People - by Tiffany Wood (February 9th, 2001) Cartoon Network - The Hypocrite - by Robert Wheeler (January 14th, 2001) Moonian Rhapsody - by Tiffany Wood (December 25th, 2000) Does Your Site Suck? (Repost) - by Tiffany Wood (October 28th, 2000) The North American Sailor Moon World - by Dan Bednarski (September 26th, 2000) The Trouble With Dubbies - by Robert Wheeler (September 13th, 2000) Sailor Moon Fansubs - by Dan Bednarski (August 13th, 2000) Does Your Site Suck? - by Tiffany Wood (August 6th, 2000)