I discovered TDL while looking for the year The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe movie was released in theaters. I lurked for awhile, and eventually worked up enough courage to ask my parents if I could join. I remember that day very clearly. My dad and I went golfing (well, he golfed and I drove the cart
), and I talked to him about it on the way home. I registered that night, scoured the internet for an avatar, and waited (rather impatiently) for my account to be activated.
That was almost three years ago now (though it feels longer). And, as they say, the rest is history.
I think the main things TDL has helped me with as far as growing up is concerned are creativity and friendships (though the latter isn't so much growing up as just helping me cope with life).
TDL was the first place I really showed other people my writing. I was always shy about it (still am, in fact), and having a place where I could post something and people could read it if they wanted to and ignore it if they didn't has given me a chance to see that there are at least a few other people interested in the kind of things I write, which has encouraged me to keep writing and to be willing to share with others. This place also got me started on making graphics, which is one of my favorite hobbies.
Now friendships. I have a very strict definition of the word friend. I've also shared very few of the typical interests of people my age for most of my life, so finding people I consider worthy of that title has been a challenge. By the time I joined TDL, it had been about four years since I had really good friends I got to see frequently, and even longer than that since I had friends I got to see more than once a week at the most.
Then I started making friends on here, and TDL became one of the first places in my memory where I had good friends who were
around all the time. That has been so, so helpful. Even now, at college, there are some people whose company I enjoy who are around, but I am one of the most conservative people at the school, and finding people who share both my morals and my interests is seeming nearly impossible. Having a place I can come where there are some people like that is one of the things that helps keeps me sane.
I really appreciate the people on TDL, especially GG, D, Lossy, Mike, Glen, and Vanessa (and I'm probably forgetting someone; if so, I apologize
). I really feel safe and comfortable around you, and not many people in this world make me feel that way.