A message from a former catgirl community regular

When I was 12, I found a weird fascination in anthro and humanoid cats, and joined an online community for humanoid cat enthusiasts. I was pretty active there for a couple years, making friends and enemies along the way, I was a kid and I didn't really know how to identify my sexuality as a femme presenting person and I really didn't understand myself, but I liked talking about cats and I liked having a space where I didn't have to discuss anything I didn't feel comfortable discussing, when I was about 15 I met a boy who I really liked and I talked to him about it but he didn't seem very interested in it and then he broke up with me and I found out he was a furry that dated me because he thought I was a furry too and in a fit of rage I lost my password and never logged back in after that, I found you guys out of curiosity, I never knew that there was this much backlash against catgirls, I never really knew that that side of the community was so big back then, I've looked back on it since and realized how problematic that was and I really am sorry, I never realized how much it affected other people, I apologize to anyone who I offended or disgusted in the process, I can't change the past but I need to move forward and heal and apologize for the damage I had caused. I'm sorry, I truly am.