A Whole New World

When I was sixteen, I transferred to a school called Harvest Christian Academy. There I met Eric, still one of my friends today. Back then, he and I were inseparable. We could sit and talk for hours on end about nothing. We texted, called, IMed, and played MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Play Games) all the time. It was my good friend Eric (Air, I affectionately began to call him) who introduced me to the world of Gaiaonline (dot) com.

For those of you who don't know, Gaia online is a free online community created by those for those who love anime and all things related to it. It has expanded and gained popularity since I joined. Back when I joined, it was a small privately owned website. Now it's got a nice big staff and everything. Very cool. Airic and I were hanging out one day when he told me about this website. I got very excited. You could make friends, play games, own a house, earn money and buy and sell items to create your own personalized avatar. It sounded like fun so I rushed home to create my profile right away. But making an avi and playing games wasn't the only appeal, nor was it the reason he wanted me to join. Airic wanted me to join this site for a very specific reason. To role play!

Okay, now pause this for a second. Not many people these days understand what role playing means in this context. I didn't, and it took me four years to explain it to my parents so let's give it a try here. On Gaia online, role playing is simply this. A person writes up a basic plot summary, then presents to the public a format in which you, the role player, can create your character profile. You put your character's name, age, background, personality, and anything else the RP monitor asks for. Then you submit this application to the RP monitor and wait for a response. If he or she accepts your application, you may then begin to write. Yes, write. You write posts, interacting with other characters and playing out scenes and situations the monitor presents to you. Sometimes this is done in large groups, sometimes privately between a few people. Sometimes people find a partner, and those two will go from RP to RP writing characters for each other whether it be friends, siblings, or even romantic couples. According to the rules and regulations posted by the website, all RP forums must be capped at a PG rating. Which means limited violence, swearing, and sexual interactions. Put basically, you are writing a story, collaborating with several other people. All fun and kept fairly innocent. Airic introduced me into this world in order to write a story with me. I absolutely loved it! I took off in this new world of role playing. I didn't just write with him, I wrote with others too. Lots of others. I joined countless RPs and created even more of my own. There wasn't a story I didn't want to be involved in or a characters I couldn't play. It wasn't long before I was addicted!