Photo of the Month January 2026

I’m deleting my GrowDiaries account, and I want to explain why — not to argue, just to be honest. This isn’t about contests, points, or being excluded. I’ve been excluded before and I was fine with it. That’s not the issue. The issue is seeing GrowDiaries promote and take sponsorship from ruSSian-named companies in 2026 and acting like it’s just normal, just business, just a name. For me, it isn’t. I have family in Ukraine — in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk. This stuff isn’t theoretical or “political debate” to me. I’ve watched what ruSSia does, how it rebrands, how it slips back into normal life by pretending names and symbols don’t matter anymore. They do. I’m not expecting platforms to fix the world or make big statements. But choosing who you promote and legitimize is a choice, whether people like that or not. At some point it stops being about grows and diaries and starts being about what you’re willing to overlook just to keep things running smoothly. I’m not willing to overlook this. I’m not angry. I’m not looking for drama. I’m not trying to convince anyone. I just don’t want to be part of something that treats this as acceptable. So I’m leaving on my own terms. Some things are more important than accounts, contests, or visibility. This is one of them. — yan420g