My Journey in Second Life

Some beautiful paths can't be discovered without getting lost.

Erol Ozan

          I’m taking some time to stop and think about my journey so far in Second (SL).  (No, it’s not because I don’t have anything else to write about as Significant Other suggests.)  Lately, I’ve been giving some thought to what I’ve done inworld so far and how I’ve changed,

even in Real Life (RL).  (Significant Other says something about been trying to tell me that.)  So, I figured I’d share a few thoughts about my journey in SL with this story.  

          My original intended purpose when I came inworld almost five years ago was to travel across the entire Metaverse beginning with SL and to write about my journey in my blog.  I was going to focus on the technical side, learn how to script, and “get behind the pixels.”  I would be in the background, watching, observing, taking notes, and reporting about what I saw. 

          Well, yes, you guessed it, a funny thing happened on my way to the Metaverse!  

          For starters, I never really left SL.  Instead of becoming a techie, I moved into the social scene.  I began pushing the edges of the envelope.  I visited nude resorts inworld.  (Full disclosure, Significant Other put me up to that.) Oh, and then came my irregular series, Sex and the Single Avatar in Second Life.    I think you’re getting the picture now.  

          I became less of a loner.  I made friends.  (Don’t listen to Significant Other saying I pay them to hang out with me.  I only did that once.  When I was six years old in RL.  And, I never did it again because they took my money and still wouldn’t hang out with me!)  I

became involved in communities.  (Many requiring clothing.)  I went to friends’ weddings and even got adopted!    

          One day I turned around and realized that I had a social life!

          Why did this happen?

          Maybe I was more open to change that I was willing to admit in the beginning.  Then there’s the fact that people are just so nice and friendly inworld!  Many communities are highly developed around common interests and draw wanderers in very easily.  

          What does this mean?

          I look forward to going inworld and meeting my friends.  I miss them when they’re not there and worry when they’re away for too long.  I grow concerned over them in RL.  I experience regret when friends leave and communities close down.  (Which seems to be happening with all too much frequency these days.)  I worry if SL might go away.

          And, this is the big one, I believe that I’ve changed in RL too. (Significant Other agrees and says for the better.  Significant Other also takes credit for pushing me into SL.)  

          How?  I think I look at RL very differently now than before I began my journey.  My biggest change is probably understanding that strangers, no matter how different from me they may be, are really only friends I haven’t met yet.  (Significant Other smiles in agreement.)  

          Continuing along in my journey inworld, I plan to explore more my involvement with friends and communities, to look at our feelings and relationships and are they really any

different from those in RL, and to do things differently myself and see where it may lead!  

          Watch this space for future updates!       

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives!  

          My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here. 

          Open roads and kind fires!