I was greatly intimidated by chat the first few times but now its my favorite part of the forum. I wouldn't be where I am today if not for chat because it lead me to having more personal discussions with my boyfriend (and other members) and a lot of the strong friendships I've made on this site I have made through chat.

At this point it feels like somewhere I "belong" and never have to worry about fitting in to. I just fit. People know me and I know them and I know who is usually on when I am and who they are and I feel comfortable talking to them.

I can also be myself a lot more in chat because of how it works. On the forums I'm sometimes uncomfortable joking around because it could be easy for things to be misinterpreted, especially if someone is reading the forum and having a bad day or something. In chat, its much easier to feel out the "mood" so you know when you can joke around and with whom. I can just be myself a lot more without fretting all night that I'll offend someone with a post I made or something.