Who Were You?

[Shiny]

I joined this site in 2005 and became super active 10 years ago. In retrospect, I was a much different person then. I basically had boils on my face, I was extremely shy, withdrawn, and went through a period of being a bit of a hermit. I was trying to figure out myself as other people were trying to figure me out. A lot of my time was spent in my head. I also thought I was a really great poet and song writer. It's funny because if I knew myself back then I don't think I would even like myself.

What kind of a person were you ten years ago?

[Vasher]

10 years ago I was not too dissimilar. I was committed to my wife and son, only 2 less kids, 1 fewer dogs. However, very frugal when it came to autos, frivolous when it came to the boys "fashion", still having friends over for UFC/Boxing, maybe a little less hairy, and a whole lot more "gym rat".

You'd have to go back at least 13 years for the major milestone (to this very month). I had just found out that my gf (now wife) was pregnant. Huge moment. I knew I was ready. Doubt and fear never entered my mind. I still remember how afraid she was when she told me. She even said she would "*" (I can't bring myself to say the word) if I wanted her to (she said this while crying, she was so "fragile" then, yet somehow still confident, very strong woman now). When I told her that I wanted her to keep our baby, the joy and happiness she expressed really matched my own feelings. It was that moment that I went from being a "boy", to earning my "Man Card".


So, "Jack Ass" to "devoted husband and father". Pretty major change, IMHO.

[Colonel Angus]

10 yrs. ago I was a couple of years out of college and a freelance writer, struggling to get a staff gig. I hardly had a presence on the internet back then. I would say I was still trying to find myself, what I believed, the kind of person I wanted to be.

Now, I'm no longer a professional writer & I'm An Internet God. I've learned quite a bit about myself & the world since then, enough to know that there's always more to learn.

[CimminyCricket]

Ten years ago I was a dumb as high school kid who knew nothing about determination, discpline, or what it really meant to be an adult.

Now I at least have determination and discipline, but I still have no clue how to be an adult.

I just spent $224 on new EDC knives.

[Midgar Mist]

10 years ago I was not too dissimilar. I was committed to my wife and son, only 2 less kids, 1 fewer dogs. However, very frugal when it came to autos, frivolous when it came to the boys "fashion", still having friends over for UFC/Boxing, maybe a little less hairy, and a whole lot more "gym rat".

You'd have to go back at least 13 years for the major milestone (to this very month). I had just found out that my gf (now wife) was pregnant. Huge moment. I knew I was ready. Doubt and fear never entered my mind. I still remember how afraid she was when she told me. She even said she would "*" (I can't bring myself to say the word) if I wanted her to (she said this while crying, she was so "fragile" then, yet somehow still confident, very strong woman now). When I told her that I wanted her to keep our baby, the joy and happiness she expressed really matched my own feelings. It was that moment that I went from being a "boy", to earning my "Man Card".


So, "Jack Ass" to "devoted husband and father". Pretty major change, IMHO.

That's such a nice story

10 years ago I was in my last few months of University. I was still with my first boyfriend but things were rocky at this point. My mood was more volatile, I was still fairly inexperienced with the internet at this point, still in a frame of mind where I would get defensive and angry online. Also more inexperienced and scared of jobseeking.

I now have more experience with both. My social skills have improved through trial and error, and I'm much calmer online now.

As for jobs, I have more of an idea of what companies are looking for and can read between the lines of job ads better. Actually working for companies during the last 10 years has helpedd with this.

[Sephex]

EDIT: Misread post as when you first joined! Whoops! I'm leaving it. I may post the decade stats at another time.

2001. 8 months out of High School. I was working a minor role in an office job where I currently work (long story how I ended up back here). Got a decent wage for someone living with my parents for free. I basically was working to save money for community college and stuff. I was still pretty deep into listening to Marilyn Manson. Though I am still a fan, my musical taste has expanded greatly since then (not saying that I listened to nothing but """"goth"""" stuff, though). I was a couple of months from my first serious relationship, so I am sure any thread I made about my perceptions of relationships were completely laughable (and would still be laughable after a couple more serious relationships).

What I remember fondly is how young this forum was. Keep in mind seeing people with avatars and signatures with video game sprites was still sort of a novelty and it was magical to see things like that. I've had this avatar forever (not counting changing it to a larger size when this forum enabled that), but before I had the Paladin Cecil battle sprite for a bit. I don't know, it was just so cool and fresh at the time.

Oh yeah, I didn't even drive then! I had very little experience on a permit, but that's about it. See in my state you have to go through a lot of red tape to get your license when you are 16 or 17. When you are 18 you can literally take the driving test without fuss as long as you passed the written test, have legit identification, and are using a legit card up to spec. I had friend that could drive, and they didn't mind hauling me around since we all lived close together. So I purposely waited till I felt comfortable enough to stroll on through the DMV and get my license. Man, I didn't drive when I joined here. Wow.

Obviously, I still lived with my folks. We didn't have the internet at home until August of the year I joined, so I could only post from work or a friend's house back then. That's another weird thing to think about, especially since the accessibility of the internet is so much easier these days. This was still in the days were having a fast, reliable connection was rare and/or expensive. So working where I worked at the time was a dream since the internet was absurdly fast at the time.

So, to sum up:

*18 years old
*A few months out of High School
*Working a full time job
*No college, but did go and was saving for it
*No car or drivers license
*No real relationship experience outside of a few short lived ones in High School
*Lived with parents
*Internet culture, accessibility wildly different from today
*Did not have access to internet where I lived

[Calliope]

A decade ago I was still posting here, but likely in net cafes or library computers. I was in my first office job, which would be much more influential than I thought it would be. I was a bit random, a bit of a "manic pixie dream girl" before the term was coined; and quite a bit more optimistic and fun-loving than I am now. Responsibilities and realities are funny like that.

[Chris]

I was funny, handsome, teenager, Grace Jones obsessed maniac. I am still some of those.

[Bubba]

Aww man, ten years ago was the height of my hedonistic twenties. I had a much larger circle of friends and we'd be out drinking to excess every weekend and quite often during the week. I did some pretty daft things back then and cringe sometimes when I think of my antics. Taking illegal drugs was a big part of my social agenda too. It was a bit of a wild time. I did lots of travelling and had lots of fun but entering my thirties I calmed down a lot. I think if MissH had met me in my twenties she'd have run a mile!

I suppose I'm similar to Vasher in the way that I've matured a lot through having a home and a family and being self-sufficient. In a way I'm kind of glad I joined EOFF a little later than most as I'm sure I would be the list of perma-bans!

[Pike]

Ten years ago I was in university desperately trying to figure out whether or not I should change my major. (I ended up not doing it because I didn't want to get into any more student loan debt.) I was working at Target OH HEY LOOK WHAT I'M STILL DOING.

I think I was huge into Neopets at the time. World of Warcraft was out but I was deliberately avoiding it in the name of school.

That's really all I can remember.

Honestly I've been the same person for the past ~16 years, haha.

[Galuf]

i dont really know. i was 8, so.. less mature for sure. but tbh i think ive gotten maybe less confident. idk, i dont remember much lol.


oh yeah i watched spiderman when i was 8. thats all i renember

[Pumpkin]

Ten years ago I was about to turn 14, I was dating a guy who would soon pressure me in to having sex before I was ready by calling me names and threatening to leave me, and would also soon be entering in to a five year long abusive relationship.

On the brightside I was much thinner and had some super nice clothes and a lot more friends

[Fynn]

I was 16. It was my first year of high school. It was pretty cool. I had a lot of friends and I felt really enthusiastic about everything at school, spending each break just talking to people, and my class actually had no troutty people, which was really awesome. I was already good friends with my now wife, but we hadn't started dating until a year later. I was much skinnier then, too, which seems so abstract at this point. And I had an emo haircut. Interesting times. That was also the year when we went to Italy with the choir. One of the best trips of my life, hands down.

Ooh, also, that's when I joined EoFF, finally!

[Formalhaut]

Ten years ago? I'd be... 11?! Oh, don't remind me.

I was, and still am in fact, a very boring person. I was an average student, in an averagely dysfunctional family. Seriously, I'm trying to think of an anecdote or story from that time, and I'm coming up with nothing. Year Seven education completely flew by me.

[FFNut]

When I first joined I was the same as I am now.

10 years ago I was a oil patch worker working 364 days a year 17 hours a day I really didn't have an identity besides a guy who worked his tail off for really nothing in the end.