General

My quotMaplequot Story response

This is in response to a post in another thread, although took awhile to write. It's a VERY long read, but enjoy! Sorry if any part of it seems narcissistic. o.o
[b]Edit:[/b] Title, y u do dis?

@SyncedUp:
When I was younger, I was bullied horrendously and the only friend I had was someone from Elementary School who sadly ended up going to a different middle school. I felt alone, basically hopeless and the bullying eventually turned into depression. Whenever I'd go to school I'd immediately have my head down all day and felt the need to escape any social interaction at the fear I'd be teased or hurt. There wasn't anything "bullyable" about me, it's just that I was chosen to be treated horribly.

So, during this time I ended up stumbling upon MapleStory which I had joined many years before in Beta, but was too young to know how to play and eventually left. When I finally returned to MapleStory, it was around the release of pirates (v.62) and I quickly made an account and made the character Timberwolf10. MapleStory was an escape for me and it was the only thing that kept me from either sleeping or crying when I got home. I was able to quickly make friends and eventually had a whole bunch of buddies and a guild that knew what I was going through and supported me through it. I can always remember the second I'd login, I'd have three to five friends spamming me or stalking me curious about my day and asking how it went, as there were always others who were going through the same things I was.

Then, sadly things took a turn for the worse. The bullying got worse and I was diagnosed with clinical depression and at times felt suicidal. Skipping through a couple months of recovering, I eventually at home being home schooled as I got through the remains of my depression. During this time, my character Timberwolf10 became somewhat well known in Demethos, and I had made a lot more friends. I was invited into some of the largest guilds at that time (including the first Level 200 in Demethos's guild for a bit of time), and was starting to become recognized. Throughout my struggles and depression, I guess you could say I always hid what I was really going through, or didn't let it change who I really was online. Everyone knew me as a trustable, kind mapler.

Even though "Timberwolf" was really myself, he was everything I wanted to be in real life; a good leader, strong, and someone people could look up to. I started to work harder to become a stronger person, went back to attending school though still dealt with some bullying, I made it through 8th grade. By this time, all the struggles both on MapleStory and in real life made me a stronger person, and truly changed me. As the years went by, almost every single player knew who I was in Demethos and it was assumed I could be a 'celebrity'. I felt joy from the fact that I had earned that status and that anybody could trust me. I remember a time when a random mapler trusted me with using their item with Decent Hyper Body without even asking for a collateral, simply because he knew I was a good person.

As more time passed, I began to connect with the community online as well on MapleStory's forums and eventually on Twitter. Through this, I began to form friendships that I still have today, as well as opening the opportunities of visiting Nexon America in El Segundo, which was always an honor. MapleStory, along with it's community helped me through a time in my life when I struggled with severe depression which was one of the key factors that kept me together. Through those experiences, I grew a sense of 'owing something back to the game' and grew humanistic values through it.

I would say that MapleStory has changed my life, and brought me in the path that I was meant to be on. I've grown as an individual, as well as a presence online and I'm gifted to have dozens of friends I've meet through Twitter as well as in-game who I can call a friend. I think I will always be apart of this game until it's end, although by that time, it'll be in my memories and all of it's players memories forever.

A couple things that happened from being involved with MapleStory ( more in response to @iMelons )
- Made it through years of depression and struggles.
- Grew up with a community and made some friendships that have lasted for years.
- Meet some amazing people in real life such as @mrbasil, @grantwall, Hime, and more.
- Met my girlfriend Katie ( @denyingnina) who I've been with for 9 months now, who I met through another mapler on Twitter and will likely end up marrying each other many years from now.
- Self confidence!
- Met Nexon's CEO!
- Wouldn't have ever been so involved in web design or development, so wouldn't have been so successful.
- Wouldn't have the thousands of friends and followers I have on Twitter.
- Wouldn't have become an Official Nexon Volunteer (which had it's incentives)
- Likely wouldn't have hit 200 because I only did because of all the support from my guild and friends.
- And much much more.

How well have I done as Timberwolf online?
- Official Nexon Volunteer for several months.
- Thousands of followers on Twitter.
- Started work on a official social network for MapleStory that is doing well.
- Over a hundred likes on Facebook.
- Followed by several gaming companies, "verified" celebrities, and others.

What are some things that still happen even while playing MapleStory? (in response to @iMelons )
- Still healthy, slightly underweight.
- Work out daily and excursive.
- Have straight As in school (senior in high school)
- Girlfriend
- Will be attending college.
- Basically guaranteed a job at Nexon as I've interned and assisted their company for years.

[b]tl;dr version:[/b] Despite going through years of depression and struggling with life, I've made it through thanks to MapleStory and the friends I've made through it.

Sorry if this was tl;dr, just wanted to let you know my story. Comments welcome, derp hurp.