Where We Are Now.

    Boy, it sure feels weird to check up on this forum after so long. I'm not sure I can call it a good feeling, given all that we lost and all the time that has passed, but it's certainly a wave of nostalgia. I don't know how many people still actively check this page, or if everyone just forgot about this, so I'm not sure if anything I say here will actually be read. Either way, it still feels good to at least pretend that I'm speaking to this community again. I think it would be nice if, and this would only happen if anyone remembers this page (but if you're reading this I guess you did) that, instead of looking back at what was, years after the minecraft servers, after mineresort, HT, all the skype calls and whatnot, and everything else, we all shared a bit about where we are now, and how we've grown, not only as individual people, but as a group and as friends. I'll start here.

    After the last revival of HT and its deletion, I moved away from public minecraft servers. A lot of things were going for me at the time in my life: I was about 1 year into my life as a Type-1 Diabetic and was still learning how to properly take care of myself medically (a process which is still an everyday challenge for me). I had started High school and was at first overwhelmed academically, but I eventually grew to handle it. Before reaching high school, I spent most of my time socially isolating myself from everyone irl, and as little time possible actually doing anything productive. My parents got divorced, an event which I didn't take well mentally, and I continued to be reclusive behind a screen. I spent a lot of wasted time feeling depressed, isolated, and sorry for myself. I knew that at some point I was going to have to choose to either be a coward and end it all, or to try to make something for myself that I could be proud of.

    The fact that I'm typing to you here shows you which I chose, and I'm happy that I made the right decision. I joined a few clubs in school, made some new friends, and found my love for television broadcasting, video editing, writing, sculpting, painting, and other forms of expressive art. I worked hard to make myself into a better person, both socially and physically. I had discovered how good it felt to have created something from scratch entirely by yourself. As a high school senior, I displayed my artwork for the first time in a public showroom, for the whole community to see. I graduated from high school in 2016 with an advanced diploma, after putting in extra effort academically. I completed all the ranks of Boy Scouting, eventually earning the award of Eagle Scout in 2016. For that award, I completed a service project that I planned and orchestrated to provide the local SPCA with much needed supplies for the animals they shelter. The project was incredibly successful thanks to the donations from the local community, and we collected enough items to supply the shelter for almost another year. It was a profound moment that helped me to realize that I could do good things for others and make a difference in the world.

    I'm now almost 2 years into college. I'm a Psychology major, and I'm planning to transfer upstate next year and eventually earn a master's degree. My parents both moved on (My mom is remarrying next year and my ex-stepdad hasn't reached out to me for years now, so I've stopped making him a priority) and overall, my mental health has improved tremendously. I didn't lose all my former friends here- I still actively talk with Schori2 and expodingpenguin every day over discord, and they've been the best friends I could ask for. I actually took a road trip last year and drove over nine hours one way to see expodingpenguin in person (the conversation went something like "hey what would happen if I just showed up at your house one day" ""do it you won't no balls"" *knocks on door a month later* "yoooo whats up fam" ""holy shit you actually did it the absolute madman""), and even though it was a tiring trip, it was still worth it to finally meet up. Internet friends are the best, man, and don't let anyone hate on you for that.

    I still occasionally play minecraft (usually when I get in a mood for it or when a new update has been released, both of which are rare) and I still enjoy video games to an almost unhealthy amount (my favorite game of all time is Dishonored). I play games regularly when I have time after finishing schoolwork. If you'd like to keep touch with me on social media, I post regularly on tumblr and twitter, both of which you can find on my tumblr's About Page, which also includes my steam name and my instagram. If you send me a message on any of those platforms I'll usually respond in a timely fashion. rune-song.tumblr.com/aboutme

    I still have fond memories of the community we once had, and I hope you're all doing well. If you do see this message, I hope you decide to share a bit about where you've been and what you've done, like I did. I certainly won't forget any of you, and I wish you all the best. May the wind favor you.

    Signing off,
    [BDK]