Around the time of Next Level and Rock 'n' Roll Circus, I just did not care about Ayu. At all. I mean, at that time, I still considered her one of my biggest influences because of albums like Duty/Memorial Address/I am... but it when it came to her new releases, I just wasn't interested. At that point of time, I had been a fan for... oh... six years? Something like that. And I just became bored with her, since she had been a part of my everyday life for so long. Sparkle is the sh**, it's so good. But when it was released I just did not care. I even got a little tired of seeing her to be honest.
So I took a break. It's not that I hated Ayu, it's just she's always here, always doing something (which is great for her if that's what she wants to do, but sometimes can be a little cumbersome for fans, you know? 'I just bought this new album of hers!' 'Oh did you know she's releasing another one in, like, two months?' 'Wait. Seriously? Why?') So many quantities is bound to lose a lot of quality. And, to be honest, I was sick of it. I felt that I never really got to enjoy Ayu because Ayu is always changing Ayu xD (Again. That's both a good and bad thing.)
So I went away from the Ayu-fandom for a little bit. I found new artist that I enjoy tremendously and still follow to this day, both big names and small. I began following other people and concentrating more at doing things with my life. Time flew. A couple of years go by and then I was just quickly browsing some Japanese website (I was actually looking up something Namie Amuro related xD) and they happened to mention Ayu was going to be releasing Love Songs. So that reminded me that I haven't checked her out for a while. Then I came back here and, though I've never been the most active fan in the universe, it was kind of nice coming back and seeing how half the fans are still here and still arguing about the same things while Ayu is still being Ayu by not being Ayu and always changing Ayu and trying new Ayu only to go back to other Ayu just to figure out that really she's this Ayu instead of that Ayu and apologizing about being that Ayu while she's singing about not being sorry for being that kind of Ayu whilst trying to be a new Ayu bringing back the old Ayu. (Did I get that right?)
Joking aside, however, I'm really kind of glad I took that time off. It was fun getting to experience all those 'older' albums and concerts without everyone's opinions changing my opinion of it. I ended up downloading and then buying all the albums I missed out on and watching the concerts with this huge grin on my face like I was some ten year old. xD Maybe you should try doing what I did. Just... you know... step back for a little bit. Ayu isn't going anywhere and we're not going anywhere so if you decide to step out for a little bit and grab some fresh air, we'll be right here waiting! And so will Ayu!
