Second Life – Second Innings by Yoda Porthos

The record books hold the proof of my birth date in SL – March 30^th, 2009. At 11 years and 2 months at the time of writing this brief, that makes me a veteran by SL standards. Yet, that date is misleading – that was my first stint at SL, a very brief one. I had created an account here at the behest of a friend. She showed me around, then found a partner for herself in SL. I wasn’t so lucky. I wandered around destinations before finding someone who, among other strange habits, rode a flying horse. I met her precisely twice before she disappeared. In a few days, I followed suit.

Fast forward 4000-odd days and the same old friend mentioned that SL is now a different place. There are more places to visit, the graphics are better, there are more people, and even the ‘people’ look better… more realistic than they were earlier. The was enough to pique my curiosity, and I decided to come in again.

When I went in, I was in for a surprise. The place had indeed changed for the better, but that also meant I was more lost. Thankfully, my friend showed up and took me to Helping Haven Gateway, where I made my first couple of friends in the new world. They showed me around, took me places, and made me realize my Blue jeans and Yellow shirt, plus the radio were standard newbie attire. I lost them, fast. I got a new bod, tall and muscled, which I thought was great, till one of my friends pointed out my arms were larger than my head. I had trouble getting in through normal sized doors because I had chosen to be too tall. All that had to be fixed, but most importantly, they suggested I get my old ID and password back. That was resolved in a matter of days, thanks to the prompt folks working behind the scenes to keep SL running. I got myself a mesh avatar, upgraded my wardrobe, got a decent haircut and felt right in place with the new world.

Look at the guy in the picture here…even I wish looked like him!

The Helping Haven Gateway had amazing people, very helpful, easy to talk to, and jovial. That, and my friend’s island became my favourite haunts, and even though I sometimes wandered through new destinations without having a conversation with anyone, having friends kept my patience and interest in check. It’s been a few weeks now, and I am still fairly new. I still don’t get a lot of things right and it does get frustrating at times, but the good points outnumber the not-so-good ones. I like this place way better than I did earlier, and even though I still mostly linger with my friends when they are around, my experience has been nothing short of amazing… and I am only getting started.