Musings on a Life Inworld

Yes, here I am chilling at home with Phin after the Steelhead meeting. I am always glad to see him. We've been talking about doing some kind of podcast with our musings about life in a digital world. Who knows?

Earlier, I had watched a Dr. Phil episode. I don't normally watch, but today's was about a young guy who had a gaming addiction (looked like Call of Duty despite the blurring). It started out with Dr Phil in Second Life, custom avatar and all. I braced myself for the usual negativity, but Dr. Phil seemed to be enjoying himself, exploring, flying, trying new things. SL was featured only in the beginning and an end segment, where Linden Labs CEO Ebbe Altberg was talking about its positive benefits. Dr. Phil himself never condemned SL or video games, only the addictive behaviors that sometimes result.

Many of us have been there. When I first came to SL in 2007, I was reeling from my mom having cancer. It was a place of quiet for me in a way. I wanted to explore and build and be left alone. Then I found the Steamlands communities. I lost a job and then really got kind of sucked in. In hindsight, I was depressed and probably spent way more time inworld then than I would remotely be comfortable with now. It was an escape. Between the birth of my son in 2011 and a glitchy computer, I was away for years and came in very infrequently for special events and to talk to friends. Last year, I returned, promising myself the following: No obligations. NONE. No building. No designing. No nothing to keep me inworld. Just enjoy and slip in and out at will.

I have found a balance now in my real life and my digital one. I didn't feel the need for the type of validation that being inworld can be so seductive in providing. I have seen it so many times: how one's avatar seems more authoritative, more popular, more beautiful, more accomplished. How for some, they crave the attention. For me, I know that SL had inspired me to go to grad school. I even put it on my admissions essay. SL inspired my creativity. That it could be a place of healing and discovery. That I have made great, interesting, intelligent friends that I count among my RL ones. That if it all went away tomorrow, I have had an incredible, unforgettable experience within it.

There's a very important thing to remember as our digital lives become more evolved: It is a complement to your real life. How will you make it work for yours?

Reflections on RFL 2014

As some of you know, RFL is a very personal thing for me. One of the reasons I came to SL in the first place was that I was dealing with my mother's cancer treatment at the time. I saw SL as a place of peace where I could build and forget for a moment. RFL is my yearly reminder of her and others who are special to me's fight with this disease. I know so many who lost their battle and others, like my mom, are still here to fight another day...

I totally enjoyed cheering folks on from the Steelhead campsite this year. Pared down my outfit and stood barefoot in the grass as folks went by...

 

As I heard the names of those that I love honored during the luminaria ceremony, I welled up. There is a reason why we do this every year...

Our Steelhead Salmons team and the town of Steelhead raised over $1000.00. This year's Relay in SL raised over $410,000 real-life dollars overall! Thank you all so much for participating and trying to make a difference!

Holy Jeebus, Where Did the Time Go?

To say that this has been a busy summer/autumn would be an understatement. Between travel, an illness in the family and changes in my own life, SL and posting have kind of fallen to the wayside. I mean, I still come in to attend town meetings, chat/visit with friends and tend to my shops and Lunar's requests regarding Steelhead, but I haven't been in as much as I used to be.

I'm starting to feel creative again, which is a good thing. I'll start posting my thoughts on the world again too. I've kinda missed doing so.

A Waste of Time?

A RL friend recently asked me "Don't you feel you are wasting your time playing video games in lieu of doing something creative instead?"

In addition to SL, I play Aion and also love console games (I have a 360 and a PS3) that I enjoy playing with my sister. I'll admit that we even wear matching headbands and have an absolute blast together! Call it family bonding with controllers in hand. That's not a waste of time to me.

My answer to my friend was that I enjoy it, it makes me happy and I'm good at it. I also told him that I suppose the time he spends watching lots of TV shows and movies and dissecting them to death online is time he could spend doing something creative as well, such as his own artwork. How is gaming different than any other hobby? Some folks like to read or scrapbook or make duck decoys. I like to wield a sword or run amok as a tiny bunny sometimes. Big deal. To each their own. I'm sure as hell not going to knock what brings someone joy.

If I wasn't doing anything creative at all in RL I could see the problem, but the funny thing is that I find inspiration from my gaming instead. It fires up my imagination and can help with a story or something I wish to draw. And my SL friends, for instance, have been just as supportive and encouraging of my RL creative endeavors and get on me if I slack.

Besides, as the artist Auguste Rodin once said: "Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely."

Spring is in the Air

I've been away from SL for a bit. I've been lucky if I'm in more than 2X a week. A lot has been going on in my RL and frankly, I really needed the break. I always come in to attend Steelhead town meetings on Tuesdays and tend to Steelhead things such as building the new Embassy in Winterfell...
As I stated in my last post, I had become disillusioned and disappointed of a sorts inworld. We grow as our virtual selves, and creatively I felt empty, drained and unproductive. My SL started to feel like a shell of itself. I have been enjoying being in Aion with my RL husband and best friends, but I realized that I really missed my friends in SL too...And they told me that they have been missing me a lot as well, which truly touched me...Even my buddy Newbe has returned to SL with a new outlook after a long hiatus. Bit by bit, I have been making small steps towards coming back and even felt inspired to create this:It is spring after all. A time of new things. Change in so many ways. I can feel it...I'll be back.