Where were you 4 years ago?

[Dju]

I was thinking about it some time ago and it turns out 4 years were a long time for me, a long good time full of changes and good memories. So I thought it'd be something nice for us to share for eachother...

So, where were you 4 years ago?

[Char]

Four years ago I was a shy, quiet student coming into high school for the first time. I also recall going to the Niagara Escarpment for the first time for Geography class. It was memorable and exhilarating, and it stands out as the most special memory of that year. Let me tell you all a story about it.

When we arrived at the escarpment, it was misty with the air simply saturated with moisture. The smell of damp earth and freshness was something special, almost ethereal. All of a sudden I heard the piercing cry of a flute - apparently we got off close to an Iroquois village. It was hauntingly beautiful and it fit the mystical nature of the place perfectly. I never felt so at peace in my life.

Anyways, we hiked up escarpment, looking at the vast forests wreathed in mist from atop the cliffs. There were such sheer drops that it took your breath away. There were caves too, and we were given the opportunity to slip through several during our trip. One cave opened up to a cliff face and we had to scuttle along a ledge to get back to the top. It never rained, which was nice.

At about two or three o'clock we made it to the hill that lead to our bus. As we reached the crest we saw the bus standing quite a distance away. I /swear/ the driver saw us, but he drove away! WITHOUT US. Later we learned that he was going to be late for his elementary school runs so he just abandoned us on the escarpment, and another bus wouldn't come until six o'clock. After some initial panic we called our parents and then scooted off to a large gazebo not that far away. The mists started to get thicker until you couldn't see anything twenty feet away. It was cold and damp. Some people had their iPods so at least they could listen to something.

About an hour in people got creative. A trio of boys went into the woods and came out with a fallen pine branch and pinecones - we played baseball for a bit. I found an empty honeycomb, a few ladybugs and jumped on some huge mushrooms growing nearby. (I found it fun to scare some girls by showing them my findings, heheheh) Not long after the baseball game we learned that there was a soft-drink machine 200 m away, so a small group of us went into the mists to see it. Only one person had money on them and got some coke - we almost fought for it until the teacher grabbed it and gave it to her.

It was dark by the time the second bus came in. I didn't get home until nine. It wasn't a fun wait, but the whole adventure was pretty enjoyable and I'll never forget it.

[Crystal]

Four years ago, I was a little 17 year old with a huge bag who got checked out of the Singapore airport on the way to America. I ended up spending the night in a plastic chair, and I called my dad for help, half in tears. xD

[PFA]

Lessee, four years ago, I was 13, going on 14. I was kind of an NTWF newb back then. Also, um... writing NT comics, apparently...

Oh! And I was just barely making my website. It turns four this year. Weird to think about. XD;

[Ian Wolf-Park]

Four years ago, I was a first year university student (I'm now a graduate) who had rejoined Neopets after a lengthy hiatus.

[Tam]

I was a mopey seventeen-year-old in grade twelve with absolutely no idea what to do after graduation. xD I was beginning to research this thing called Katimavik, though. And my class was beginning to plan out the grad ceremony itself — we were putting together some bingo fundraisers, and I was probably feuding with a... er, friend of mine over one of the usual differences in opinion. I was taking senior-level classes in English, Social, Math, Biology and Physics. My family was going to take me to Disney World for the first time that Christmas. =D

I was spending a lot of time online, and beginning to settle into my role around the NTWF somewhat. I had a persona and I was roleplaying with the Knights a lot. I had just finished my training period as an Artist for Rescreatu, and I was drawing a lot of Halloween-themed items. I was in the middle of writing several things for Neopets, using Appleworks. In seventeen days Appleworks would glitch and delete the contents of a story I was about three paragraphs away from finishing, and I would, after an extended period of angsting, switch over to Pages for good. I think I was just finishing writing my second Ghostchasers series. And wearables were a relatively new and exciting thing, so I was gleeing about having a Pretty Pink Flower Hat and two Explorer Backpacks, the latter of which I bought for 150K each. xD

[Terra]

I was a shy twelve-year-old who was incredibly socially awkward and didn't really know how to talk to people. XD I had recently gone through a rather long period recently during which I didn't really interact with too many people. That fall, though, I started doing a few more social activities.

For example, I had barely just started a scene study class with a certain theater group, which started a little awkwardly, but in a couple of months, I started to find my strengths as an actress, and I guess I've kept growing from there. (I left that group for a while, but returned this year. Man, it's awesome.)

I think I'd also just joined a new Girl Scout troop, and through the next few months, I was going to rush to complete my Silver Award prerequisites so that I would be able to do the Silver Award project with the rest of the troop. The project was performing a sketch comedy show at various schools and senior homes. I loved it so much.

Oh, yeah, and I joined this current events discussion group. That was fun.

It's weird. I feel like that fall was kind of the start of a lot of what my current life revolves around. Well, starting then and going through the following summer, I guess. That period was when I started making a lot of the friends I have now and doing the things I do now. I have very little left from the period of my life before that, really. Maybe that's kind of sad. XD; But things change, I guess.

[Draco]

I was in my first year of college, nothing special.

[Robyn]

I was a stupid freshman in high school! 8D By now, I would be very invested in the marching band program (I was in the front ensemble, playing the bells) and just now meeting some friends who would go on to either completely drop me later on down the road or continue to be my rocks for years to come. The weather was getting colder, classes were going swell, and I was just a very happy person in general. If not still just a dumb freshman. ^^

[Roughtiger]

Four years ago I was in high school, I was shy and afraid of every one...even though I was in my 2nd to last year there. I'm still like that so, there's something that hasn't changed. Oh, and I was failing at almost every subject except for art.
And I still fail. 8D BUT NOT IN A FAIL FAIL WAY. In a good way. >8I

These were the negatives.
I forgot all the positives...except for passing Art and ASDAM.

[Grove]

I was a silly 10 year old in gradeschool and sitting in the background of my class, everyone apparently as smart as me. I drew like I always did. I procrastinated like a boss.

I was apparently into Pokemon and Subeta. Neopets? What was Neopets? (aka I got bored of it and went on indefinite hiatus)

Photography was one of my more relevant interests at the time. I went everywhere with a camera.

I got some pretty lovebirds.

Four years ago, and my life wasn't special. But it did later lead to one of the most special years of my life.

[Lord Hayati]

FOur years ago, I was a freshie in high school, much like Robyn.

I was still in Flatirons, although I was trying to get out. My Neopets Addiction would probably be at one of its peaks, there, with all of the stress due to flatirons. I basically used Neo as a coping device. the Dolls were long gone, and I was in the shenkuu Teahouse, along with Torkie, and Celestial. Torkie was still writing her MEGA STORY, and celestial was being celestial. Then, Torkie brought up This place, and had placed her story here, rather than somewhere else because it was taking too much space.

Being untrustful due to RL, I decided to lurk the topic where she was updating, while lurking at the teahouse at the same time. Nagbot, or Apollo, or Princess, or Scout, was currently on a rampage at the AC team boards, and was generally making havoc.

One day, I come to find out that I couldn't lurk as usual, because I needed an account to browse, which needed to be approved.

so I registered one.

then I complained in the locked forum thread about this, and mentioned about apollo possibly being behind it and having a bone to pick with him.
got a swift stern talking from Stalkitten for that. XD

and that is how my NTWFing began.

[Komori]

Four years ago I was just starting as a senior at SCAD, and was working on my short film. (Egads, was college that long ago? ;_;)

[Breakingchains]

...Not in a good place place.

I was a dysfunctional 18-year-old, facing an issue that felt unthinkable at the time. All while in the throes of depression and a huge, screamy-emo "LIFE IS PAIN, WHY DO I EXIST" fit.

In retrospect, though, it was something of a powerful turning point. My outlook on life, my stability, and my maturity level have all improved dramatically since then. If nothing else, it serves as a something I can point to and say to myself, "Chains, you think you're a crazy !@#$% NOW!? JUST LOOK AT FOUR YEARS AGO!"

*cough*

[Gelquie]

Four years ago, I was in my senior year of high school. I had since gotten away from the classes that were grinding on my nerves. (...With one or two exceptions.) I was happier that year than the previous years, relatively. It felt like I was actually starting to have fun, and there were people I would actually talk to on a regular basis. ("Talk" meaning "sit and listen to the others".)

But back then... Was also so very embarrassing. I was letting some things get to my head and I was acting on them very immaturely. Thankfully, I'm better than that now.

I wonder if I still have the competitive streak that I did back then. I think I'm less arrogant than I was back then, at least. (Well, I wasn't trying to be...) Either way, when it came to doing things, I wanted to win. And I would push myself to do things even to unholy hours of the morning. And I had so much homework, but at that point, I didn't care. I was spending most of my day outside of school. Most of the time, I didn't get home until 6-7pm or sometimes even until 10pm. I spent a lot of my time in the school either doing my homework or playing my violin until my fingers bled or going to town for various things. Unless I had a physics project to do, in which case I did a lot of crafts projects at home. My family barely saw me during that time. And the fact that I had night classes on some days from the college didn't help. xD

And for some reason, through all of that, I didn't go crazy. Or maybe I was crazy in that I felt like I wasn't going crazy, but I was already crazy but I couldn't tell.

Dang, a lot of things have changed since then. My work ethic has changed, for one. My embarrassments like hounding my footsteps even now so that it constantly reminds me of what not to do. I take competitions as a bit less of a big thing I "need to win" now; I'm still a little competitive, really, but I now more focus on the experience than anything. Basically, I think I've learned a lot since then. There will always be more things for me to learn and I think I'm still quite far off from being the wise and sage master of all and stuff, but I'm definitely much more mature now than I was 4 years ago.