Most people who know me can generally agree, I am a nerd. I chat on IRC, I code websites, and for the past 3 years I’ve been a member of Kingdom Hearts Ultimania’s Forums. And for those not in the know, KH is the game that teamed Final Fantasy and Disney characters together. More worrying than my length of time as a member of the site, is the age of the game – it came out in 2002.
Thats right. I was into this when I was 11.
Eleven.
It is interesting to note I join KHU’s forums in 2005, a year that seemed to not be very good for a lot of people, myself included. I joined I guess as an escape from the world Iwas living in at the time. But even when 2005 faded and 2006 came, I still stayed. I was hooked. It provided me the social interaction I craved, intelligent discussions with people who were in a similar position to myself. It became less about the games as it did the comradity, the idea that there were people out there that would listen if I was feeling down, that I could open up to as they were so far away I was safe. As the year progressed I moved up the administration ranks, at the height of my power I was a Global Moderator, one step below Administrator (or for a more real-world ideal, I was just below CEO in a company).
Fast forward to March 2007. The winds of change were around, stirring up trouble. I decided to leave my current high school and go to one more open. At the same time, I decided to give myself a completely fresh start, and left KHU. The saying “And the rest is history” doesn’t really cover what happened next. True, most people do know some of the story – I met Rosie and the gang, recorded an EP, and to complete the year I was named a Prefect for my school. The idea to change schools and leave KHU was the best thing that ever happened to me.
And then, as Exams were finished and I was left with boundless amounts of time to do whatever I pleased, I found myself typing in my browser http://khforums.com (now kh2.co.uk/forums). It seemed strange going back. But now I’m a moderator again – in the Creativity Section (naturally). on the 21st it will be my 3rd anniversary as a member there. If the best thing that’s ever happened to me involved leaving, what has changed to make it okay to come back?
I’m no longer reliant on it.I spend minimal time on it, mainly just to post some Photoshop manipulations I’ve done, to critique other people’s, and to make sure no one is breaking the rules. Then I go off and do a merry jig with my real friends, who I can be open with and trust them.
It’s nice to know.
I think your cool Declan…