I first heard of Second Life through some Sims 2 players. Around 2006-2007, I did make an avatar but realized that I would have to pay each month to join and play, so I changed my mind and backed out. In very late 2008, some of us were talking about online games and SL was mentioned once more. When I commented on the fact that it was a monthly fee, one of the girls who was on SL already, explained that it was no longer that. In 2009, I made another avatar in Second Life, since I hadn't finished with the first one in registering her. It was so different compared to Sims 2 and I loved it. There were more interactions with actual people. It took me about a month to stop calling my avatar a sim, which yeah, that did lead to a bit of confusion. lol
I've been here since and loving every minute of it; the ups, the downs, and everything in between. I play the Sims 4, as well, but my primary platform is SL and I wouldn't trade it for anything.