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Dispatch → Meta → Reference
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The Meowvellous Wonderful World of Valentine Z.
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Valentine Z celebrates the 6th year on this - writing stories, making friends, having fun. :3
Again, data usage warning. Large images. ^^;Ohh, hello there again! Hmm, how time has passed, right? Has it been 6 years already? Indeed! Today, as per the founding date on my nation, marks the 6th year of my time here!
Let's go back a little bit to the years of 2012-2014, wayyyy before I know anything about NationStates. Back in those days, I have a small and vague idea of a nation that I would like to run. Of course, I didn't know what NationStates is, and I was limited to video games at that point. I never thought about writing an expanded lore, or doing my own Photoshopped visuals and the like. It was not something that ever crossed my mind. I wasn't good at creative writing in my school.
Then one day, my friend posted a screenshot of NS stats on my social networks feed. I was interested, and then asked, "Ohh, what is that game?" She replied back with glee: "NationStates!" and thus a whole new world was open to me. I love the NS stats, and the fact that other than getting raided (which came later, to be fair), I have freedom to do whatever I want, and there is no way to win.
It's all about the community. It's a small community, ranging from 160K to 240K nations for the most parts. And that's okay! From the years I have spent here, I have met some of the nicest and friendliest people to ever grace the Earth. ♥ Forum 7, Got Issues, RP sub-forums (International Incidents, NationStates, Portal to the Multiverse), even NSG at times - there is little to nothing stopping me from visiting other places and meeting never-before seen folks.
And that is not all - one of the most recent communities I have went to - is NS Sports! A place, as the name suggests, is focused on the world of sports and scorination - random scoring combined with several other factors, among them being RP bonuses. As you write more and more and you find more inspiration, so are your chances. You can write about anything you want as long as it follows the rules and is relevant to the events at hand. You can see where I am going with this. I was absolutely thrilled! To be able to write about my characters, and then about racing, and other sports? Yes, please! It also helps a lot that NS Sports has a very long and deep history, on top of some of the nicest people I have ever met!
As the amount of friends grew, there is no doubt that there were a bit of setbacks and pitfalls, here and there. I am no stranger to this, and I can and have admitted that this was due to my overreactions, the way I think, and many other vices. And it is once again these friends (on top of people IRL, of course) that never abandoned me - they have taught me self-control, are tolerant to me, and even helped me through my journey of self-actualization, to stop myself from going crazy just because of something small. I have learned to not make a mountain out of a molehill, so to speak. I may take breaks here and there, but I will never abandon them as long as I am still here. Friends nearly as close as family, and perhaps even better than a few RL people that I have met. The good side of the Internet.
I grew a bit bigger, in relativistic terms. At this point, I like to think that I have been to almost every part of this little corner of the internet. Of course, that is not to say that I have all the popularity and the fame, or a contest. There are people much nicer, friendlier, and happier than I am, and that's okay! They have inspired me in one way or another. All I can say is - I am happy to be here.
I am simply happy with the places I have visited, with the people I have talked to. And more importantly - just to be able to write and share my most creative writings. It is not the best on the site, I am not going to be too egoistic on that! I am, once again, just grateful that I can share my writings, get constructive feedback, and to be able to write what I want. Most of my F7 friends (among many others) know that I don't like too much of politics, and that's okay. They read my writings for what they are, and understood that everyone has different tastes. I respect that, they respect that. ♥
From the bottom of my heart - Thank You for being a part of my life. NationStates may be a mixed bag for many, and I know, that's okay. For me personally, you are all a world to me.
