Your Second Life Story Challenge

[Schdeuph Rosca]

In 2007 I was watching TV and it was a report about a game called Second Life, in which the local sports brand Adidas is selling shoes for 300L$. I was like "What? Virtual shoes for 300$!? This is insanity! I need to see this..." so I created an account, went to see what all of this was about, and here I am. 13 years later.

What do I love most about being a resident? That there are no limits. If you can dream it up, you can find it in Second Life. If nobody before dreamt it up before you, then it's up to you to make it happen. 

[Misty Rhodes]

I rezzed into Second Life as Misty Rhodes on August 5, 2003 - That was 16 years and 9 months ago.  Certainly not the oldest Resident but definitely one of the biggest and most sincere lovers of Second Life. Before that date I was in TSO (The Sims Online).  I was texting with a friend from TSO on MSN when she said she had to go to Second Life.  I thought she meant RL but I am forever thankful I decided to ask her what she meant.  She told me about how everything was user made and I was definitely wanting to check it out.  I was not a computer geek or nerd but the moment I set my pixelated foot inside Prelude I was hooked. When I got out of that training and into the wonderful world of Second Life I was in awe. And I have so many friendships cultivated in those early days still.  I was a social butterfly and even though I was on a computer that could not run SL it never made me give up.  To explain how bad those early days were for me, I could not move but the people around me were wonderful.  They would rez a prim for me to sit on and drag me around. lol  When it would go to night time my screen would go completely black. But I was still in love with SL because of the Community.  I had a great "Mentor" and I myself became a Mentor because of him. As I made friends, my love for SL kept growing.  I got to meet in RL many SLers and Lindens at The First Second Life Community Convention where I became a part of the people who made the convention possible.  I was part of that event for the next 7 years. during the beginning days of my Second Life I found out Linden Lab hired many people from within the Community so I tried and tried and finally on January 16, 2006, I rezzed into Second Life as Mia Linden with my sister Linden, Dee. It was a dream come true for me. I so love SL, the people, the creativity and the endless wonder of the people who create and share.  For the next 4.5 years I was Mia. But I always logged in Misty after work. It was the best work experience of my life. Being able to work for something I was so passionate about.  I was in awe of my fellow Lindens. How did I get so lucky. Even after my life as a Linden, I remained in Second Life. I still login everyday except for when my computer broke. I was able to get a Lifetime Account so I will login every day till I die. I am thankful for the many friends I have because of this platform. Friends around the globe and those I get to visit with in RL and always in Second Life.  I never delete a friendship. I am proud of that because I get IMs from people saying they just returned to SL after years away and I am the only friend they had left. They said it was nice to see a familiar name and thanked me.  Honestly, I thank them because I am so happy to be a part of their virtual world. Back when I started we had ratings which would factor into your stipend. We had parcel ratings too..  It was awesome to see your friends flying by and dinging your vote meter every day.  And then doing the same for them as well.  We had taxes, we paid to teleport and there were only HUBS not direct teleports. I miss many friends that no longer log in. But, some are coming back and that is so awesome. I was a social butterfly as I stated earlier.  Back then L$ had no monetary value but as is the case still, it was hard for new Residents to know how to make money in SL.  So that is what I did.  I started Misty's Free Raffles. I would use my L$ and my partners and people would come and click on my Raffle Board which would give them a gift and enter their name in the raffle and then I would start clicking to get winners and  give them L$.  Then I started getting unsolicited donations of L$ and prizes. I would do the event until all donations was given out. Some events lasted 3 hours.  I also did MistyWood Squares and I got Philip Linden as my Center Square with a few other Linens and well known SLer's of the day.  Sadly I was still on my subpar computer and crashed so Philip took over hosting for me.  Oh such good times back then and now. I will always love my Second Life because of all of you. My friends and my friends yet to be.

[LunaRavencroft]

How did I first hear about it? God, I remember it like it was yesterday. Admittedly, it was significantly way longer than that, or even nearly 5 years. It was like.. 2003 or so when I first heard of it. Then, I tried to join and made an account. At the time, I didn't have a good computer, and eventually lost that account's information. So, when that computer died, I lost that account and forgot about SL for a while. Fast forward to sometime in 2015 and I'm on FB, talking to a friend, and eventually decide to rejoin. This time, actually being able to get on and enjoy my time. SL's helped me replace parts of my computer as they wore out.

Now, since that fateful September day, in 2015, I'm here to stay. Slowly trying to establish myself. SL, like the real world, is what you make it, but there's certainly drama. What do I love most about it? That you can connect with so many people, some good, some you'd rather not meet. I love that those of us with anxiety and other disabilities can still do things, that there are so many wonderfully amazing people, that people seem to constantly create such amazing things. SL truly isn't a game, it's a virtual world, and that's evident in all the different things people've made. Entire virtual cities, clubs, lives, etc...  SL isn't a game, it's an art. Granted, you do have trolls, griefers, etc.. but when you get rid of them, you're left with the amazing things made, though, the not quite so nice looking things are there, certainly. 

[Anidusa Carolina]

It was in 2007 when I stumbled upon SL.
I had been playing pc games for a while, but non of them really satisfied me. I was missing the freedom to just walk around and explore the game's world without the pressure of any NPC telling me that the actual quest was sooo sooo urgent and I should hurry to get those 20 furs for the King!
On the other hand, I loved games with a good avatar editor, I could spend hours to create the "perfect me". (In RL I have been a fat person since the days of childhood, I haven't had one single slim second in my entire life, so I loved feeling like God and create myself all over again to my liking.)
Even now, you are all understanding why I fell for SL, aren't you?

Another issue of my life was the desire to own a house. And knowing for sure I could never ever afford that in RL. (Houses in Germany are rather expensive.)

I read an online article from a German journalist, who had joined SL, went online each day and blogged about what he experienced. So I suscribed this blog and followed his experiences in SL until he finally gave up the topic and started investigating other stuff. I felt I wanted to make an SL account, but I did not. 
"Andrea, you know yourself well - if it really is what you suspect it to be, you will fall to addiction on SL. You better avoid that!" was my thought.
But I regularly remembered that it exists and my curiousity stayed. 

Temptation grew. In the beginning of November 2010 I created an account, landed at the tutorial region and spent a few hours there. I am and always was a "reader of manuals" before using something.
At that time I happened to be unemployed for half a year, and living alone. So I had plenty of time for SL. I still remember my freebie shop based appearance of my beginnings, like a blonde, fragile fairy girl, dressed in somehow oriental stuff, and always afraid that I might have overseen some point of the TOS, misbehave accidently and get "fired" from Second Life. Hehe.
I remember my very first time leaving the tuts............being trolled by some Russian Witches, who haunted me with sort of lightning and spiderweb poofers, so I could not see anything, while they made spooky sounds and were laughing about the scared noob in chat nearby. After standing this situation for about 15 minutes, and not having discovered how to tp, I simply logged off and felt bad for the rest of my RL day. 

But at my second day in SL I saw two persons at a freebie center, speaking German. And approached them "Oh, do I hear German words here?" They laughed and turned out to be a very kind couple with a heart for newbies, lend (lent?) me a hand and even gifted me with my very first "self chosen skin". We lost contact in 2012 or 2013, but I will never forget them.

Quickly I descovered, that, besides my desires to own a house and be slim and attractive, there was way more I had desired in RL and could do it here!
As a child I had always wanted to become an actress. But I grew up in the 1960ies, where actors were regarded as "those unworldly, bohemian artists", and my family told me to forget about that and learn a "solid profession" instead. So I found to roleplay. 
I had always desired to be a photographer. Landscapes and nudes. In RL I could not afford a good camera (remember! - this was before virtual photography approached), and landscapes wouldn't have been a big problem......they were outside waiting for me. But models for nudes?
I started to create several different types of models in my account and created a male account for male models, which also tought me, that men are treated different than women. An interesting point to start some social gender studies  

And so on. I could create a wall of text here - ten years of SL carry so much wonderful moments, drama, friendships, funny days and ........properties. I am still loving to take pics, load them up on my flickr and try to tell stories with them. Creating landscapes, decorating houses. 
Since I am retired now, and living alone again, I have plenty of time for this second life, which is so much more vibrant than my first one.

Edited April 28, 2020 by Anidusa Carolina

[Bailey Saxmundham]

I read an article in one of the Sunday papers and thought I would give it a try.  I logged in and spent an hour creating my avatar and dressing it.  I remember saying "I don't see what the fuss is about; I won't be bothering with this."  That was February 4th 2007!  With the exceptions of illness and holidays, I have logged in to SL every day - though my account is different to the one I started with.

I can't pick one thing I love most about SL; I need three!.  The first one is the people.  Through SL I have 'met' many wonderful people from all around the world who I would never have had the chance to connect with under any other circumstances.  I have shared part of their lives, listened to their stories, felt their pain and joys.  The Stay At Home Club has shown how a community can come together in exceptional circumstances.

The second thing I like is the freedom to be me.  As someone with 'complex mental health' issues, SL allows me to (mostly) overcome the social anxiety and agoraphobia that have plagued my real life.  I get to be the me I would like to be - open, outgoing, always off exploring, going to parties and gallery openings, etc.  I even get to DJ in London City, Chiaroscuro and at Second Pride.  I have made connections with people such as through groups like Survivors Of Suicide.

The third thing I love about SL is the creativity.  Anything from the real world can be created by talented residents.  Additionally anything from fantasy and imagination can be created too.  The work that goes in to many of the regions is phenomenal - be that a city, a forest, a beach, space, etc.  I used to spend many hours amongst the strange alien beauty of Pteron.  The regions at Fantasy Faire are breathtaking.  Calas Galadhon, Inspire Space Park, Coeur di Amalfi/Azur/etc., Caledon, New Babbage and many more display such vision and artistry.  

[PixieGirrrrl]

There's a scene in a french film called Little White Lies where one of the characters is a wife in a sexless/joyless marriage and you see her playing Second Life and having an orgy in it. At the time I was looking to inject some more excitement into my life, so I thought yeah why not try?  

I also remembered seeing SL in a scene from The Office US and thought it looked like fun. I've been off and on for eight years now, but always come back. SL was such an adventure to begin with and still manages to surprise me with its weirdness and wonderfulness! ❤️

Edited April 28, 2020 by PixieGirrrrl

[JoeJoe Suppenkraut]

I saw an article in The New York Times about Second Life and some of the groups they have in here. One of those was a writer's group. Up until then I really heard nothing outstanding about SL, and refused to try it, thinking it would be a waste of time. But since I just had my first novel published, I thought I would give it a go and maybe I could drum up some publicity for it. And boy was I wrong!

Not about getting publicity for my novel, but about the misconceptions I had about Second Life! God almighty was I wrong!!!

That was over 11 years ago. And since then there are maybe 12, or 13 days, where I have not logged in, at a minimum just to see what was going on. And my passion for being in here and doing what I do is still going strong.

[ZennyRose Balhaus]

I was given a years Premium membership as a Christmas Present..so on the 28th December 2006, ZenCho Balhaus aka ZennyRose was born....I remember going through the old orientation island experience and carrying that damn torch about, how hideous the default avies were that you could choose when you joined, how the grid was offline all day on a Wednesday and how totally FUBAR it was when you could finally log back in.....teleporting and everything being up your backside when you arrived....but here I am still here after all this time, still amazed by the beautiful sims people create..Happy to have met some amazing friends who are now friends in real too (and yes we have actually met) I have been a dancer and host in many clubs, done some crazy things and some things I am not that proud of either....I look forward to seeing what LL does in the future, and I hope they reward those of us who have been premium members for so long and I don't mean those linden gifts that I have never used..apart from a few days when i have been to ill to log in i normally pop in for a hour or two each day....I still love SL and I think it will be something I will carrying on loving

 

[Oxymoron Dagger]

I am closing in on completing my 13th year in SL and I can never forget what got me here.  I am an avid sci-fi buff and Neal Stephenson is one of my favourite authors in this genre.  Needless to say I have read Snow Crash (published in 1992).  In Snow Crash, Neal had proposed the idea of a metaverse where people log in and do stuff just like we do in real life.  On 31st May 2007, I distinctly remember reading an article online that said, Linden Labs has "loosely" modeled Secondlife on Neal's proposition!  I almost jumped out of my chair in excitement and dropped the laptop that was resting on my lap in my eagerness to check it out.  The rest as they say is history... googled second life, downloaded, installed and well... yeah 13 years and counting...

[Fiona Saiman]

I met Second Life in 2006, reading the magazine "Focus" and immediately curious I enrolled to know this world, and so it was. I was born in the Korea welcome area.

Not knowing the English language at the beginning I felt alone, but being a person who does not give up I searched the web forum for articles in my language that explained how the viewer was used and I said "I can do it" lol.

I have explored far and wide this fascinating world that not only made me discover beautiful places and made many fantastic people known ... it taught me that in any place unknown to us there is always someone ready to help you and for a long time I dedicated myself to the help of new arrivals, I was also part of the Mentor group for a few years, and I can assure you that it was the best time of my second life. I thank the Linden Family for giving me this opportunity too.

Currently I continue to explore SL and I have the great passion of photography known thanks to SL and I continue to help everyone, helping is something that you have inside and you never stop doing. I have collaborated with many communities (mostly Italian) organized events of various kinds, but I am a person who also loves to isolate himself for taking photos and writing, I write about SL I tell the positive aspect of a world that has supported me in difficult times of the my real life, I learned to walk again when panic attacks kept me indoors, I took SL with me whenever I was afraid of leaving the house or crossing a road, if I could face my phobias in SL I could succeeding in reality is like this. Thanks SL for all that I have received in all these years.I wish everyone well, and blessed be Second Life who offers us great help even in this difficult period. Good life

PS: I hope my English has been translated well and sorry for the papyrus, but I had many thanks to say and today I had the chance

[DarkUnicorN]

well let see 

the story begins the year 2005, i believe, was strainge and nooby,and difficult. Didnt stayed much,didnt had pattient....and deleted my account

I returned at 2009 after Avatar MOvie released on cinemas, i thought was a game on computer, so i sign in and discover something else. Meanwhile i was in imvu that time of my life, so I lost interest after a little while.  I finaly returned on secondlife after one yrs, furious with imvu drama...and vendettas to try to learn a new virtual world and it capture me from the begging. FOund pple willing to help me in first steps , on how to move, on how to use inventory or how to add or wear all that strange stuff  or how to teleport and fly.... was funny and challenging...

Meet friends from allover the world  ,meet some of them even in real life...and my bond with sl becomin' stronger....

I am still here , landscaping,creating,hunt,shopacholic..

and more to come!!!

[Dorie Bernstein]

Nearly 15 years ago I read a short article about a place called Brigadoon. It was an island in the world of Second Life, inhabited by autistics. Pathfinder Lester (Linden in that era) had created a small community for people I could relate to. I got into Second Life by fits and starts, since my computer at first rez was about to die anyways. Once in a couple months later, I tried to enter Brigadoon. I never made it, but found Brigadoon Explorers and Dream Travelers founded by The Sojourner, aka "Soj", of blessed memory. With her encouragement, and the help of many, I began to build and find a place of my own in that community. I didn't need to go to Brigadoon. Soj passed on. The estate and groups were passed to Golda Stein. And now I help keep the place running. I've met so many amazing people. I even earned some RL US$ designing an island for Divers Alert Network in the early days of the nonprofit rush to explore this new world. I have been Dorie so long that I even startle to the name in RL, if someone calls it to get their friend's attention. What a wondrous place! A chance to explore new ways, new art, new skills, new thoughts, new ways of being. I am grateful beyond belief to Pathfinder and Soj for bringing me in all those years ago.

[MinniF]

How I came to SL

It all started when my Father pensioned himself and took up reading. After reading a Novel by Jonathan Safran Foer he was reminded that there was Another Life, which he briefly tried in 2003 when it was NEW (shortly before I was born). So he created an Account and logged in to SL 3 days after Christmas.

He saw that technically everything had improved a lot during my lifetime. He spent a week watching, listening and reading before he decided to upgrade his account and get himself a Linden Home.

Even if my Father has worked more than 40 years in Computer Software Development, I now seem to be the Computer Nerd of our Family, and therefore I got involved at an early stage. He wanted my Mother to join him and I helped him overcome her reluctance. I created her account and chose her avatar. I dressed her and designed her shape including the making of her unique skin, until she actually looked like she did in RL when she was 35. Except that I gave her the long white hair that she wears today and I had to make her almost 30 centimeters taller. She finally gave in and met him in their Linden Home, her own hands on the (much hated) mouse and keyboard.

My Father never stops half way through, so he kept nudging me. I joined them a month later - Or so we thought.

Now that Corona has closed my School I have time to write about what happened.

Starting in SL 2 months ago

I did not lie about my age and it will be nearly 9 months until I turn 18. The Linden Knowledge Base articles on this subject (Maturity Ratings) are unclear. If I started all over again I would seriously consider lying, as I now have come to believe most young people do. I do not mind being barred from ‘Adult’. I saw most of the ‘things’ with my Mother when preparing her SL. But I am strictly confined to ‘General’ Places and Things because ‘Moderate’ is also forbidden for me. 
After a number of conversations with ‘old’ Residents I now know that they simply do not understand my problem. They never gave it any thought. They all kindly suggested places I could go and things I could do, not realizing that I would be rejected by all these ‘M’ rated places and activities.
I still sometimes give the ‘collection of recommended Destinations’ a try. Of the 170 ‘non Adult’ recommendations I can only visit the same 5 or 7 places. All the other attempts give me a light electroshock and a silly message box suggesting I should update my Preferences to gain access. Goes to show me that not even the Lindens realize the problem, since they themselves have made this impossible.
I sometimes think I must be the only 16/17 year old Resident? I certainly didn't meet any and there is no place to go if you want to. It also seems that all the other replies in this forum come from 'old' Residents - makes me wonder if 'Linden Law for young people' has the effect of cutting off a much needed supply of fresh Resident blood.

In the time that passed since then my Father bought us a real SL Home. Now I can feel safe teleporting to HOME. A thing I have come to LOVE.

With this Safe Haven I can have fun with exploring (somewhat limited) and building and landscaping and designing and scripting and soon shall come meshing. 
 

[MrsSeren]

I always knew of SL; my then partner and myself was bored and tired of another nameless adult centric virtual world so I dragged him here though I be first to admit to start with he was very anti-SL and against starting a new all over again however I did convert him and he learned to love Second Life.  Fast forward almost 7 years; he since left due to real life and other reasons however Seren still here; coped with new SL advances such as mesh bodies and heads and now I still work as hostess but I also blog for fun and two sponsors I have. 

I enjoy all the adventures I have with my friends, my loved ones and what was awesome today; my SL husband teleported someone to his DJ set that I haven't seen in few years; we was very close friends and we back to being friends again plus i know we going to back to causing he mischief and mayhem we was known for!

[Solar Sierra]

My human sent us here to represent our RL nonprofit, to help educators and people interested in learning more about energy. After a week of seeing the sights and the how-to-build sandboxes, I searched for places that had anything to do with energy or sustainability, and found Etopia, where I could set up (non-profit) shop and be sure to meet people with like interests.

I and my alt have been building solar and wind products that are unique and meaningful and interactive. The skills we learned making products that interact with the wind and the sun and agents helped us to make a popular rope slide that brought in decent RL money for ten years. Also some things we make in SL become prototypes for RL educational products. So, SL is a platform for more than just escape. The people who program sailboats and hang gliders to respond the wind in SL really inspire us.

We're still doing it all 13 years on, still have a Sustainable Energy Science Lab on Etopia Island, my home. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Etopia Island/224/57/22

Shout-out to Jojogirl Bailey and Tsidel Shepherd and WilliamTheWise Goodman for showing me the ropes in my new home, Etopia; Cube Republic for building and collaboration; Ginny Beauchamp for being good social glue; Namaara MacMoragh for keeping Etopia running and expanding; and EnergyTeachers.org for hiring us to do all this.

Edited April 28, 2020 by Solar Sierra
added shout-outs

[Salt Peppermint]

I was told it was a very creative platform so I joined in 2006 to take a look. Being a designer in RL, SL was ( and still is) and extremely interesting concept. I only stayed for a year in the beginning, met great people, and had already a little store selling system layer clothing. At this time the workload became too much and I left. A couple of years later I came back but mainly to meet people, to role-play and just enjoy some time in a fascinating virtual world until a friend convinced me to open a store again. It turned out differently than I had expected or planned and eventually became my RL job allowing me and gifting me with an incredible flexibility in my life. 

What I love most is certainly that I was given the chance to meet beautiful people that I grew so close to. Some I was able to meet in RL , and let the friendship grow even stronger. Some I still have not met but consider them as my closest friends in both worlds.

I do enjoy working for my brand and pouring my heart and creativity into it ❤️

[Ganelon Darkfold]

I first heard of Second Life from an article on some website or other about "virtual worlds", and it just sounded really interesting.  I went to the website, downloaded the viewer of the time and dove in.  I've always been interested in the idea of virtual worlds, so it was a no-brainer to hit Second Life shortly after I heard about it.  I'd have to check how long ago it was, but long enough that last names were still the norm, at least 8 yrs probably.

What do I love most about being a resident?   Seeing all the amazing areas people build, all the ideas and creativity that go into the products, homes, environments.  Sure, I learned to build and code a bit for myself (doesn't everyone?), but I love seeing the creativity and ingenuity of others.

I'm a "hobo" in current times.  I don't spend enough time in SL in an average week these days to feel the need for a permanent home.  In years past, I have rented apartments, and for a while rented a "skybox" big enough to have a small mountain, a lagoon, some beach and woods, and an old industrial building with a loft apartment.  That was back when I was working inworld as a content writer and so was "rich" enough to buy any toys or etc I found interesting.  So I sailed the seas of SL in my little sailboat, flew the skies with everything including a cardboard box or a bicycle dirigible, and crossed the continents on a little green moped.  For deluxe space travel, my fave is my old Hippie Bowman ship or for shorter hops, the Galactic Trade Union SpaceBug that I customized to my liking.  

Over the years, I've tried to get "First Life" friends interested, but none stay interested for long, it seems.  I haven't had relationships in SL or long-term old friends, since I wander a lot when I'm in SL and sometimes disappear from SL for months at a time, when "the regular world" needs my focus.

[Beth Macbain]

Honestly? I used to belong to another virtual world that was solely centered on sex. This was about 13 years ago, I guess. A friend from there convinced me to join SL. I still remember that first hour or so. Bumping into things, trying to walk up a staircase, her dragging me all over to get me all fixed up (or as fixed up as we could be back in the olden days!). A no-mod shape, skin, hair... she gave me L$1,000 to get me started. One of the first things I tried to do was fit XCite nips... oh my god, what a nightmare it was! I knew nothing about editing things, or adjusting them. "Edit linked? What? Why do I need these?" When I logged off that first night, I was so discombobulated by the entire experience that I didn't try again for about 6 months, I think. I logged back in and was able to explore, take my time, and figure it out all on my own. 

I ditched my original avatar because she was a character and I wanted to be me - by name. Beth is my real name, and it's a signal to others that I view SL as an addition to my RL. Since then, I really haven't left except for short breaks here and there. I started a reasonably successful blog, learned to love taking photos in SL, and met some utterly amazing people who've changed my life in so many wonderful ways. Yes, it started off as a sex thing for me, but it grew, and grew, and grew, especially in this past year since Bellisseria was born. Everything is different now, and amazing. I love the evolution of SL, and all the changes - mesh, Bento, BoM (which I still haven't tackled yet, but I like knowing the option is there), EEP... I can't wait to see what else is in the Big Book of Ideas that will come to fruition as SL continues forward. 

SL let's me be my most Bethy version of Beth. I can explore all facets of who I am without fear of reprisal or shame. I can be completely X-rated one day and spend the next day filling my parcel with cute little fluffy baby animals. Go snow skiing in the morning, visit a volcano in the afternoon, snuggle with my love in the evening, and jump in a UFO and leave the planet late at night. 

Perhaps most importantly, I feel valued as a resident by the Lab. I feel like I'm appreciated by everyone from Ebbe down. Others tease me about my slavish devotion to Lab employees but if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have this magical world filled with people I adore. 

[liberty4us]

I stumbled over SecondLife, when I was professionally involved with VR and read an article in a magazine, in which SecondLife was also mentioned. I read more about it and was somewhat surprised that I should not have noticed such a thing. So I had to try it out...
My first day was so confusing, I had no idea. Anyway, I now appreciate SecondLife for the fact that I can vacation here whenever I want, be creative myself and experience the work of other, even more creative, people and I have met a lot of nice and interesting people since then. Also others, but you have to live with that everywhere  

[Pearlinda Paine]

I first heard about Second Life in a Yahoo chat room. Back then, Yahoo chat rooms were a "thing". One, in particular, Afro Caribbean. So, on June 17, 2007. Pearlinda Paine became a permanent resident.  

[Ami Thibedeau]

In 2009 I read the word "Avatar" and was curious about what exactly that meant. I hadn't seen the movie and still haven't to this day.  So I googled the word and the Second Life site opened. I still wasn't sure what it meant but it invited me to create a free avatar. What did I have to lose? Ami was born; she found a newcomer island complete with tutorials and a lovely torch reward for having paid attention. After being amazed at flying, my new world grew in every direction. I found fun, love, an outlet for creativity and lots of friends. After jumping into club ownership, the real education began. Seven years of Bahamas and growing a group from 1,500 to 27,000 was an experience I'll never forget. Through that I found a love for  videography and Tribute Bands and met the lovely RihannaStella, creator of THE DIVAS and Coz Okelly, owner of Lightning Productions. I'm so proud of both entertainment groups. I found more than just friends; I found families. Here is a collection of my videos:  https://www.youtube.com/user/GroupieGirlAmi/playlists?view_as=subscriber

[LittleMe Jewell]

I read about SL in a magazine, though I don't recall which one now.  That was in early 2007 - my original account was created in late March 2007.

I still love SL just because of the variety of things to do.  I used to do a lot of hunts, shopping, and dancing.  These days I spend most of my time learning to create and exploring the new Bellisseria areas.

[Tizzy Canucci]

I was doing a sociology degree, and in a book the author said Second Life was a place of re-embodiment, rather than the general view of the internet as a place of disembodiment. I always read whatever I referenced, but this had slipped by. But I thought I should look over Christmas period, and delete the game after the weekend not to get hooked. That was 2 January 2009. Still here.

But I started doing video art, or machinima, out of Second Life in 2015* which led into a PhD in Contemporary Art - that was my practice at the begining and I now do craft printmaking as well. I'd be completing this year - if it wasn't for Covid-19. The PhD won competitive funding, and has been an amazing experience. And that was all built out of being in Second Life. And I'd argue time is important, both the length of time SL has been in existence and the experience that people have built up.

* Over 50 now, all at https://vimeo.com/tizzycanucci. The one below was shown in Denver last year.

 

[Mandel Solano]

When I started 2007, I have tried to find an alternative to the killing in the computer games. I was really fed up with that, even if it was orks or something like that. I knew SL existed, but haven't looked to it yet. Anyway I made my first account, I walk around, did not know how to communicate and I did not see many other avatars there. I did not notice either if someone was trying to reach me.
I stopped SL, but later I made this account in 2010, I thought that my first was lost, now I had more free time, too. I knew that it was possible to create things in SL, it was my greatest wish. I started to research how it was done in sandboxes. Later I discovered that you could chat with others, and even become friends with them. 

Everything I saw tried to find out how it was done. I know from the beginning that I was not interested in imitating the real world, it was more the impossible side of doing things. When I recognize LEA Linden's Endowments for the Arts, I wanted to build too, but I was too shy to dare. I got to know Aqua Glow and her group, Starfall Creative Artistic Group and her Region, where I started doing things that didn't disappear after 3 hours. Later she got a grant in LEA, where she wanted me to do something. Later I applied for a Grant myself. I think it is sad that LEA could not live on because it has meant a lot to the free creation in SL, to be able to make virtual art.

SL has been both a joy and a sadness for me, because we are real people behind our avatars. We / I cannot free ourselves from what we really are, we carry our lives into this world.

But I love SL anyway...

 

[Kitteh Whiskers]

My story is simple and silly. I've been in SL for 11 years next month. I love The Sims lol. So much I wanted another game where I can look like one and RP. That's how I found Second Life. It wasn't at all what I expected but it was fun anyways.  I made a lot of friends, and tons of enemies lol. I took a break for awhile but this place kept calling me back.

What I love most about Second Life is the ability to do and be anything you want. I love meeting people from all over the world. I've learned so much about others culture, different languages, expression etc. I also love exploring and I'm amazed at the work people put into a sim. I could literally explore all day and find something new.