October 26, 2009

  • UPDATE: Growing up with FlufferMcKitty, Nothlit and K.A. Applegate

    As part of a 20-something blog group I belong to, I am swapping blogs with Holly for the day. Enjoy her post, and go to her site to see my post later today!
    UPDATE: My post is up on her site! Go read.

    The internet is an incredible medium. It allows people to connect from across the world who might have otherwise never met. In fact, before I became the World of Warcraft-playing, story-writing, resume-singing rock star I am now, I was a pre-teen book nerd who loved science fiction, technology and chatting online, and it's because of these nerdy habits that I made some of the closest friends I have.

    When I was 11 years old, I picked up Animorphs, a series by K. A. Applegate. The books were about a group of pre-teens who could turn into animals thanks to alien technology, and they used this power to (how else?) defend the earth from evil aliens called Yeerks. My pre-teen self was obsessed, and you can imagine my geeky delight upon discovering that there were kids like me reading the series all around the world, and they were talking about them online.

    So, I logged onto the internet and joined a message board for fans of Animorphs. There, I talked about spoilers, fan-fiction and casting for the now-canceled Nickelodeon series with kids whose screennames were "Nothlit" and "FlufferMcKitty." We became digital pen pals, sharing late-night e-mails instead of letters and trying out "voice chats" on our parent's computers. While I had my friends in middle school during the day, my online friends quickly became virtual pen-pals.

    Although tweet-ups and blogger meet-ups have become an accepted part of digital life, "online friends" still carries that social stigma. Like, oh, you couldn't make friends in real life? But these kids--now adults--had become such an important part of who I was as a teenager and young adult. Protected by anonymity, we shared our secrets and offered advice and, really, helped each other grow.

    A few years ago, I had the opportunity to meet my online friends in person. I was a nervous wreck--what if they were nothing like the people I chatted with online? What if they were creepy? Or axe murderers? What if they thought I was a creepy axe murderer?

    Fortunately, they were none of those things. In fact, when I met my online friends, it didn't feel like we were meeting for the first time. "Roses" and I picked up right where our last instant messages ended, and "Tyrael" was just as funny in person as he was online.

    Animorphs has long since concluded, but my online friends and I still chat and share e-mails on a regular basis. I look back now, and I'm really amazed by how long it's been. A few lines on a message board transformed into very real friendships, and I am proud to name Roses, FlufferMcKitty and all the others as some of my closest friends.

Comments (13)

  • I miss Animorphs. God that series was cool. Me and my sister would fight over who bought which volume; since we were only allowed one copy.

  • FlufferMcKitty? hahahahah that's awesome.

  • Animorphs! I read those!! (I now officially feel old.) Very cool post, I like it!

  • Did you guys intentionally both blog about your internet lives?  (I commented on your post on her blog =])

    The internet is definitely a great way to connect, and I'm not surprised at all that you ended up forming great friends with people you never even met in the flesh.  The internet takes away the face-barrier which makes getting to know people much easier, because as you said, "we shared our secrets and offered advice and, really, helped each other grow."  It's amazing to see how utterly similar we all are, a characteristic that is only revealed when we are at our most peculiar.  Aren't you proud of your pre-teen taste in novels? =]
    Martha

  • That is very sweet and I'm so happy to hear that you found friends online that were also great in real life.

  • awesome. I'd like for one day to meet my online friends. :D

  • I didn't know Animorphs was a book series, but I TOTALLY remember the short-lived Nickolodeon series...

    I met my friend Kenny on Xanga like five years ago.  We've only met in person once, due to distance, but we just chatted on the phone yesterday.  I always look back and say WOW, who would have thought?  Found him through a homestarrunner group, ha!  Another friend of mine, now one of my closest friends, went to the same college as me, but we only started talking because of our xangas.  The semester afterward, we started hanging out, and we're still hanging out three years later!

    I heart the internet very much.

  • I remember Animorphs! Gosh, John, we're such oldies

    And I'm also proud to say that an online friend that I've known the longest is for 11 years...

  • I loved Animorphs! Did you ever read the EverWorld series by K.A. Applegate? Pretty good too. lol In a similar kind of way. Short and short of it: these kids go into an alternate universe when they fall asleep.

  • @Schristian - I still have all the books lined up on a book shelf at my parents' house. They take up two rows!
    @shatterFocus - We also had a yeerk, an Aldrea and a Chapman. I was boring and just used my first name as my username, though. :)
    @Passionflwr86     - Aw, not too old! I could have written about the Babysitter's Club and Goosebumps.
    @liferemainsbeautiful - Well, we talked about what we were going to write about. I like how it turned out, though. The posts are kind of complimentary, aren't they? And, yes, I am pretty proud of them, thanks.
    @echois23 - I think a lot of people have found friends this way. It's pretty cool.
    @iamthebella - I hope you get the chance, too!
    @eowynnabeeowyn - The TV series was actually pretty close to the books, but the series ended up so epic--I know some of the former message board memebrs are thinking about rereading them as adults. Also, I heart the internet, too.
    @FreeeVerse - Animorphs, bringing people together 1996-2009.
    @yourkbear - I did read the EverWorld series! You might also like Remnants, another short series by K.A. Applegate and her team.

  • @hollydg - Ah. Perhaps I will have to check it out when I have some free time.

  • animorphs! i tried reading the prequel once about the slit-nosed centaur people. i couldn't finish. and i remember the guy whose name i couldn't pronounce, who got stuck as a bird

    and the girl who turned into a shrew or something and had to eat every 5 minutes. and the flippy morphs on the page corners! sigh.

    stumbling across random blogs ftw

  • You know, I've been reading through entries from the past of my subscriptions, and I realized how much of a middleman you really are.  It's actually quite amazing and impressive, and I can see why people might approach you as a robot with answers rather than an emotional human being.  I hope you never do me favors.  Thank you for doing all of these helpful and wonderful things for so many people John! HIP-HIP-HORRAY!!!!!!!! =D

    Martha

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