My Toy Story: First Blog Introduction and About Me
- cowgirlamanda95
- Jul 27, 2025
- 7 min read
Hey Howdy Hey everyone! Welcome to my Toy Story fan site and blog!
My name is Amanda and I have been a Toy Story fan ever since I was 5 years old when the first film came out in 1995. I remember vividly seeing it in theaters, but I do remember how hooked I was on it. It was and still is one of my most favorite films throughout my childhood, and I was also able to share the love with my siblings. We would always reenact the speeding Pizza Planet truck scene where Woody gets smashed by the tool box, or always go "you are clear to enter, welcome to Pizza Planet" and pretend to be the robots letting people into the restaurant. I don't have a lot of pictures from my childhood, but I did find a video from Christmas 1995 with Woody chilling on the couch:
I also got a Woody doll that year for Christmas and I carried him everywhere I went. Woody was my favorite, and I have to say looking back, he and Bo were my first OTP. All in all, we were a Toy Story family. My parents love it and encouraged it when we were kids, my siblings love it, and now my nephew and nieces are starting to love it.
When Toy Story 2 came out, I was knee deep into the Pokemon frenzy, but I remember still loving it. My sister liked Jessie at the time, and my brother had a big love for Buzz Lightyear. He had so many Buzzes, like a silver one, American flag one, a blue one, and of course, the regular good ol' Buzz (these have all since disappeared...probably donated. Sad.). Also, the "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" series was always on in our house when it was on the Disney channel. I remained a Woody fan, but Toy Story 2 kind of just came and gone for me because I was growing up into a teenager.
In between Toy Story 2 and 3, I fell out of the fandom a bit as I reached my teenage years and tried to survive high school. I was a major theater nerd, and a lot of my focus was on drama club, choir, and tennis. Wicked the Musical was also my life at the time.
That was until the summer of 2010, when Toy Story 3 came out. My family was HYPED for the third film, and I remember revisiting the first and second film (on VHS since that's all we had!). I had just graduated high school the year before, and was in my college years, so it was so relatable what Andy was going through. I was already majoring in Graphic Design because of my love of animated films, Disney/Pixar, and anime, but after seeing Toy Story 3, I was sure I wanted to study animation and media.
To say Toy Story 3 changed my life, in a different way the first film did, is an understatement, but it is kind of funny the slow reaction I did have to it and my eventual hook on Jessie the Cowgirl.
The first time I went to see it was after work. At the time, I was working like over 50 hour weeks and never had time off. My coworker and I snuck out for a late night, 3D showing the day it came out. I was exhausted, so I didn't comprehend it the way I wanted to, but I remember still loving Woody, but then instantly relating to Jessie. I couldn't get the film out of my mind for the following days.
Back then, the internet was just starting to become a refuge for fandom. Tumblr was new, Twitter and DeviantArt were bustling, and YouTubers were sprouting. I was scouring these websites for some Woody and Bo Peep stuff (since I was like awww my first OTP) and found YoukaiYume's Buzz and Jessie art on DeviantArt as well as Jennifer Collin's and MeganKoumori's Buzz and Jessie (and Woody and Bo's) fanfiction. To this day, I credit the internet for making me fall in love with Buzz and Jessie as a couple and amplifying my Toy Story love with reviews, fan-made things like art, stories, and music videos, etc. https://www.deviantart.com/youkaiyume
I saw Toy Story 3 again with my entire family, as is custom for all of us to go to the theater to see a new Toy Story film. My brother and I were having a blast like quoting the part where Woody is like "I brought my dinosaur who eats forcefield dogs" and reliving our childhood favorites. This moment, when I saw TS3 with my family, is when I just became stuck in a world where all I could think about were these toys, Buzz and Jessie, and this whole franchise. Jessie became my personality (and she still is up to this day).
I saw TS3 a few more times after that, and I slowly started to collect the merch. I bought posters, figures, and my very first Jessie doll that has now become so important to me and goes with me to the Disney parks. This also led me into a HUGE interest in 3D animation and the industry as a whole. Pixar was back in full force in my life again as I revisited the films and studied character movements, models, the story lines, storyboards, film making processes, etc.
Jessie became this pillar of strength and motivation to me. She is a character I relate to on such a high level. I have always been a tomboy; not afraid to get my hands dirty, wrestle, and be one of the guys. I hate dresses, getting my nails done, and anything girly. I also have major anxiety and PTSD, and Jessie showed me it's ok to feel those things instead of ignoring them.
I also adore how Buzz loves Jessie for who she is. This gave me hope that I would eventually find my own Buzz in my life; that there was a guy out there that would love me for me, flaws and all, like Buzz does for Jessie. This is why I love these two together. They are such an unlikely pair, yet have so much in common at the same time. They compliment each other in a
way I find so amazing.
In my childhood, I didn't have much and I was bullied. Throughout my whole life, I would always retreat into a fantasy world and immerse myself in my fandoms. The same applied in my early twenties where I was lost and had no idea what to do. I had to put myself through college and it took me a while, and I was having a hard time finding/keeping a boyfriend. Toy Story really helped me through this time period of my life. I became deeply involved in the fandom by befriending fellow fans, and I met my best friend for life (shout out to Heidi, YodelinCowgirl for those that follow us and our shenanigans). It was my refuge when work was overbearing (overworked, low paid job), school was difficult, and my real life was something I felt ashamed about. I was diagnosed with major depression and truly felt so low. The only things that really kept me going were my trips to Disney with my friends and engaging with the online Toy Story community.
After getting some help and the support of my family, I started to feel better in my life. I met my now husband the same year I decided to finish college to get my bachelors degree. My husband is a 3D modeling major and loves Toy Story/Pixar as well. We are both nerds and I totally met my perfect match; my own Buzz.
I worked so hard over the years to get to where I'm at now, even during the pandemic when things seemed so scary and uncertain. I put my short term goals first and really focused on what I needed to do. Toy Story took on a whole new meaning after I met my husband, reconnected with my bestie Heidi, moved out of my parent's house and in with my husband, and my now, current settled-down adult life. We had a Toy Story wedding, I have Toy Story all throughout my house, and I'm at the point in my life where I still have a bunch of work to do and things to learn, but I can just genuinely enjoy myself. Toy Story 5 is coming. It is hinted it's about Jessie, and I just want to have fun with this anticipation. Life is tough, especially right now when the world is so crazy, and Toy Story is still a safe space for me and keeps me sane.
Sadly, I do not have a career in animation, graphic design, or really anything that has to do with art because the field is overly saturated and competitive in Chicago where I'm from, and I had to pivot on what else I wanted to do with going back to school a few years ago, but I do still enjoy the media aspect of my degree. This is why I've been more active on social media and creating this website. I need that creative, digital space outlet. I created a podcast with my husband reviewing movies and shows and it's a great way for us to chat about the entertainment industry. I'm also thinking about booting up Blender and reteaching myself 3D animation.
I hope you enjoy the content I have been producing because I truly love Toy Story and want to create my social media channels and this website with that authentic, appreciative love I have for these films. I am always up to discussions and sharing knowledge of these films, Pixar, and anything else, so please don't be shy to comment and engage.
So no matter your backstory, where you came from, how you got here, this website is for all of us in the toy box. Enjoy!
~ Amanda
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