Today marks two years I've been in Second Life. It's been quite the ride. I've met some truly wonderful people who have changed the course of my life. Several times, when my Darkness starts to get too deep to handle, I have hung onto the words of my friends here. If I had to do it all over, I'd change nothing.
(Just as an aside - yes, I digress - I am absolutely thrilled to see that Owen is back in SL, just days after I mention him in my blog! Coincidence? Probably - but who cares. :) I haven't gotten a chance to catch up with him yet, but we shall, very soon.
Many thanks, again, to Garrett Larkham
One of the things I've often been asked in SL is, what keeps you coming back. The obvious answer is, the people. However, it's more than that. SL is a microcosm that is an excellent analogy to, well, real life. Things happen faster here - some things are far more obvious, such as manipulation. Other things are just so much easier inworld than outside, like, say, moving from place to place. (How many times have you wished you could just teleport from work to home?)
Many come here with no idea what they are seeking. Some come to find a relationship, or for financial gain, or just to pass the time. Some are here to do the things they can no longer do in real life, for whatever reason. Some, like me, just stumble in here with no concept of what a virtual world can be. But for those that have stuck around for awhile, there is something in SL that fills some sort need we have that we don't know how to fill otherwise.
So it's not surprising that a large portion of the people in SL are in transition of some kind. I've seen relationships blossom and marriages crumble; I've watched people who are too afraid to get out of their house in real life blossom in SL and learn to handle interaction with people that they possibly never would have without SL. I've watched people move across oceans to be with someone they met inworld and found their happiness. Those are the extreme transitions. There are so many other kinds, though.
It took me awhile to understand what it is that draws me to certain people in SL, but others - while interesting and fun to be with - just don't touch me in the same way. It is, in a single word, transitions.
Maximx, my oldest SL friend, is truly one of the happiest people I have ever met. Don't get me wrong - he's happy, not perky. :) Whether he is my widdle dwagon angel trying to keep me on the straight and narrow, or working on his latest build or we're just out flying dragons, one thing is constant with him - the glass is always half-full...or in his case, more like 99% full.
But even Maximx has had some serious transitions to work through, and I believe that SL - and the friendships he's found in here - have helped him with that. He's certainly given me a unique look at how healthy people handle transitions. Some of his words to me are what have kept me sane these last two years, and I will hold onto them forever.
My own journey through SL has seen me leave graduate school after finally acknowledging that it wasn't where I wanted to be, and move across country to do something I've never tried before. I felt at one time that I had lost a very dear friend, but we found each other again, and are stronger in a different way for it. I have learned how to set some boundaries in SL that I never could in real life - and it has made a huge difference in my life.
I have grown as a person here in ways that I don't think I would have otherwise. My friends out there - thank you for what you have given me, and I hope we continue this journey together for a very long time.
Today, at the two-year mark, most of us are still in transition, and the end is a long ways off. But at least we are in this together.
And that, as has been said so much better by Robert Frost, has made all the difference.
2 comments:
Congrats on two years Neit! My 2 year anniversary in SL will be on April 2nd, which is just a week away. It hardly feels like it has been two years already. It's insane how fast time can go.
I'll jot a quick note because you already know quite a bit about it already.
I think the hardest part, especially for myself was not recognizing what I wanted or where I needed to go. That doesn't mean that I'll get there any sooner or that the transition will be any smoother. Knowing, to a degree, though helps to guide me better in interacting with others and allowing them to interact with me. I'm my own worse critic, as if you didn't know already ;P but that’s one of the things I need to change in myself. I have learned more throughout my almost two years here that people who matter to you in any form are the ones whose thoughts and opinions matter as well. Sometimes, you have to let others go and not worry about what they will think of you, because it’s their choice to do so. Just as they chose to act or not act in their own way.
This has certainly been my year of transition. I chose to take the path I had not traveled before. Along the way, I've met quite a few people on the trail. Some have come and gone and others walk a parallel path with me, at my side or not. It’s taken a long time, but in the end, there is only one thing you can learn from it, or better I have learned from it.
I am myself. I cannot deny it. Knowing that, I can choose to walk any path and not let it be chosen for me. It’s still not always the easiest of footsteps to take, and it probably never will be. In the end though, it’s my path and not someone else’s, and that’s the important part. (plus you enjoy it more, and that's the point isn't it)
Imaginos
Post a Comment