Tag: life

SL Purposes & Dreams

SL Purposes & Dreams

by Ellie_Avora ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Let’s put our thoughts on the table for a second, when we join Second Life, we normally have some sort of purpose in which we’re trying to obtain in the virtual world. Each purpose and goal is individualized for each user. I may use Second Life for a completely different reason than another person would use the platform. Let’s be honest, the American Dream is hard to come by nowadays but in Second Life it’s possible. We as users can live a reality that is harder to obtain in our own lives in the real world. This post I’ll be talking about my experience from the very beginning and what I’ve been trying to obtain as a user in Second Life for about 9 years. As crazy as it may seem my purpose in Second Life at the very beginning though it may seem weird was to study and be with my teacher and classmates learning about various subjects using Second Life as a key component platform for showing us what the teacher wanted to teach. With that being said let’s jump right in! 

Second Life in The School Setting & Teen Grid:

A photo taken right after I got back on after Teen Grid closed down.

Yes, I’m one of the individuals in which Second Life was used in my high school to teach us certain topics. My teachers used it as a tool in the classroom if it weren’t for them and Second Life being downloaded on the school laptops I would’ve never known or experienced what Second Life had to offer. I’m one of those young kids who started Second Life on the Teen Grid when it was still around. There was a point in time were kids 13-18 could sign up for a more kid-friendly version of Second Life where everyone was technically a minor. This was around my Freshman year of high school and having Second Life in the schools lasted until about the end of my Sophomore year. This is around the time when we got the news that the grids were merging otherwise known as Teen Grid no longer being alive and Linden Labs just making Second Life what it is known as which is Second Life. This is around the time when the sign-up age was for 17 and older, kids could no longer play Second Life but with good reason. Later on, down the line when I had my account unfrozen (that’s what they did they froze all of the teen grid accounts until they hit the proper age to come back into Second Life.) it made perfect sense with all of the sex sims and skill gaming regions. But with that, as I said above, I’ve been a member overall for 9 years.

1920’s Berlin Sim Role Playing With a Friend

Purpose of Second Life to me Until Age 19:

Second Life’s purpose for me has changed throughout the years. When I was younger my purpose for using Second Life was to not be alone to chat with people and always have someone there for me even though they were far away. I used Second Life to cope with my anxiety of being alone which is odd because I’m very independent and don’t mind being alone. However, being as outgoing as I am, I wanted that human connection almost all the time because to be fair I always felt alone in the real world. I used Second Life to meet new people and make new friends along the way who have been close friends to me for years and years some for decades. Most people go online to escape reality and honestly in a sense I’ve done the same. During this time, I was in college school was stressful, making friends was hard, depression and anxiety were hitting me like a hurricane. During this time, I didn’t have a strong head on my shoulders. I was looking for something that I couldn’t obtain in my reality true friendship and with some people, I’ve found it. To be fair, they probably know me better than most people in my reality but that tends to happen when you have internet friends. To be honest, I also used Second Life at the time to release my inner demon in a sense and try things I’d never do in the real world. I experimented with my sexuality and fetishes and what I liked and didn’t like. This led to a relationship that I wasn’t proud to be in and was somewhat abusive that led into my reality but just so everyone knows that relationship is long gone. I honestly, didn’t know what I wanted in my Second Life and during this time my main usage for Second Life was to be a fashionista, meeting and making friends, and experimenting with sexuality.

Showing off my Avatar fashionista status with this photo. I put together her outfit with a French flare in mind.

My Purpose in Second Life Now:

Everyone makes mistakes as we’re all human and it’s the normal human response in society. I’ve learned from these mistakes; I have a very strong and hard head on my shoulders and because of this my purpose of Second Life has changed from the past till now. I have a few different purposes for using the platform now and most of them are to help my creative juices flow. I’ve always been a passionate writer I’ve loved writing since I could pick up a pencil and write. I’ve been looking for content writing positions in the real world, but do you know how hard that is? I also have a passion for virtual worlds as they have been a part of my life for many years. That is when I decided to write a blog. I consistently had writer’s block, and this is because I lost my skill because I didn’t keep up with it. So, I started Charming Ellie I use my blog as a hobby I don’t want to make money off of it I use it to help get my content out into the world and to write about something I’m passionate about and care about. My blog helps me to write almost every day and keep up with new trends in the virtual world industry especially since a lot of virtual worlds are beginning to disappear with time. My purpose in Second Life is to explore, create, and help deliver content to Second Life users all around the globe on travel, advice, and just living you’re Second Life to the fullest.

The other reason I use Second Life now is to keep up with the friends I’ve made in the past who are still friends with me today. They come on occasionally, and I make sure I log on now and then just to spend time with those important people. My main purpose for being in second life now is to hone my skills in interior design and fashion. These are things that cost a lot of money in reality so I just find it best to create and do these things in a virtual world platform on Second Life where it’s a lot cheaper and there are so many ways to implement avatar and land/home creation. I use Second Life now more as a creative outlook a way to push my creativity and get the juices flowing consistently. To be fair, I still use Second Life in a way to escape reality but not as much as I’ve used to. I keep to myself, for the most part, I do everything alone if I can but now and then I’ll run into someone to chat with for a few hours or more.

My Dream:

Another Dream I didn’t mention is having a beautiful babe girl when I’m not ready for one in reality. But that’s something completely different.

One of the biggest dreams I’ve had and yes, I’m a dreamer is to work for Linden Labs. They don’t truly realize how much Second Life does indeed mean to me and the people inside of it. I’ve always wanted to make a difference quite a few times I almost opened shop in Second Life to give advice and help with different situations as I do have a life coach certification. There is a huge need for something like that but when I tried people didn’t use it. I don’t want to be famous or popular for writing blog posts or anything along those lines. But I’ve always wanted to do content writing or something and become join the Lindens and creators over at Linden Labs. I’ve always wanted to make a difference in the world and even though Linden Labs is a corporation they have done that for so many people. Maybe one day I’ll be able to but for now, it’s just hopes and dreams that will take me far in my adventures in this reality of life. We never know what the future has to offer and our dreams in life take us further than we expect them to.

With all of this being my experience, I want to hear from all my readers in the comment section. What purpose does Second Life have in your life? What do you use the platform for and why? How did you start? And how is Second Life important to you? I’d love to hear from all of you as this is something that interests me about all of the users I run into and honestly it’s how I always strike up a conversation because everyone is different and everyone comes into this virtual world for different reasons. I hope to see all of you in my next post.

Chao!

SL Exploration: Russian Province COBKOBO/SOVKOVO

SL Exploration: Russian Province COBKOBO/SOVKOVO

by Ellie_Avora ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Exploration lies deep within our human DNA, no matter what we love to explore even if we aren’t aware that we’re doing it. I’ll be honest today was a somewhat boring day for me in my reality and I thought I’d jump into Second Life and do a little bit of exploring. During my travels, I came across a Russian sim by the name “Russian Province COBKOBO/SOVKOVO”. I felt like exploring something that at some point could also be seen in real life, so I used the destinations button on the left-hand side of my firestorm viewer and went to the “international” tab to begin. Heads up there are a lot of Brazil areas to visit recently. Since this wasn’t a Brazilian area, I chose it not that I have anything against Brazil there are just so many areas made to replicate it and when you’ve been to one you’ve been to them all. I can’t wait to jump right in and tell you all about my experience in the Russian Province COBKOBO/SOVKOVO!

The scenery in this sim is very well put together and is a beautiful little town to take some photos in if you’re a Second Life photographer. The scenic surroundings are so relaxing and welcoming that it relaxes you and makes you enjoy the area. It has an older country feel to it that I surrounded by trees, forests, grass and flowers (here and there). It reminds me of an area before capitalism takes over and builds skyscrapers, shops, cities, etc. in its place. Keep in mind this is just one sim there aren’t any connecting sims to visit but honestly, you only need the one sim it’s so beautifully put together and there is a lot to see and explore. When you first enter the sim there is a bike rezzer to your left where you can rezz a bike from a store called {What’s Next} that you’re able to use on the sim to cruise around while you enjoy the scenery. It’s a fast and easier way to get around the sim because guess what? This sim disabled flying so you’re either walking, running or biking. It stays true to realism and to be fair you must give the creator credit for that. If you’re making a realistic place, why shouldn’t everything about it be real? One issue I’ve had is because there is a lot to load even with good connection speed and a gaming laptop with high specs it took about 5-10 minutes for the entire area to load. So, if you visit please be patient while everything loads in. Go grab a glass of water start some music get comfortable by that point it should be ready to go.

The small-town community feels is just something I can’t get over I live in an extremely populated area in my real life and I’ve always like small old town areas because it’s the complete opposite of what I experience and it’s nice and relaxing to me. There are slopes, hills, and trees galore but what I loved the most were the little sitting areas that are scattered around the entire sim where you can sit and just enjoy your time. These areas have cuddle options so if you want to take someone on a date here it’s perfect! My new favorite little gem about this place is a small little walkway leading you out to a small little beach area with a dock overlooking the water and hills afar. If you turn the environment settings to sunset, it’s worth every moment you spend there. If only I had a cup of tea and a book it would be the perfect afternoon the sun glistens off the water, it’s almost something from a dream scene that you’d see in a movie. If you don’t visit for anything else, I highly suggest visiting just to see this viewpoint from the dock.

One thing I wanted to mention is sometimes people get annoyed when visiting sims because there is furniture or scenery that looks to much like prim instead of mesh. I’ll be honest even I get a little bit annoyed about this. Luckily this scenic area is all meshed all the furniture, houses, objects, trees, surroundings, grass, and plants are all mesh and look realistic and true to their textures. Thank goodness! This is somewhat a pet peeve of mine now, not that I have anything against prim but with today’s expectations of Second Life and advancements in technology and graphics, I can’t fully appreciate prim anymore because of the realism mesh objects bring. Also, I find mesh important when creating a realistic area because realism is key if you’re trying to recreate a real place. Another quick thing I’ve noticed, and I didn’t take a photo of it because I didn’t feel the need to is right when you rezz in there is a camping site. With this, there is also a concert stage that looks like it doesn’t blend it with the rest of the theme and scenery. I’m not quite sure if I like it or the setup it almost feels as if it’s out of place with everything else. However, this is something that can be overlooked considering the rest of the sim. An important note is there’s a sandbox on this sim with a 30-minute auto-return so if you need to rezz or unpack an item then this little town has it all with its area to do it!

Overall, if you’re looking for a place with a little bit of small-town charm and a sim that gives you beautiful scenery and shows the beauty of the countryside in Russia than this is the area to explore and I highly suggest it. It has so much to offer and so much to explore I was easily able to spend about an hour here. Below is the SURL that you can copy and paste into your viewer at the top or you can just click it and it will bring it up in your browser to teleport too. This place is something special!

Click here to go to Russian Province COBKOBO/SOVKOVO

Blogging Success Have I Made it?

Blogging Success Have I Made it?

by Ellie_Avora ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Honestly, my answer, if I were answering, would be no. However, I am still a new blog and honestly, it’s doing better than I ever expected it too. I get some views here and there and it just makes me happy to know that people are reading my content. The way beginners who are just starting a blog should look at things is blogging starts out as a hobby. Success comes to those who wait. If you’re blogging with money in mind it probably won’t be as successful as you’re expecting it to be. If you’re passionate about a topic and find something that you can ramble on about do it. Were all different and we all have different likes and dislikes. Every blog has a demographic the challenge is getting that specific demographic that your blog is aimed at to read your posts. I started blogging because I love to write I needed something to keep me busy but was fun while I’m on my job search since I’m fresh out of university. Writing has always been a passion for me and if I can get people to read my content it makes me happy just to know that my words are being written. Yes, it may only be by a select few people who are following me now. But they support me and everything that I’ve written so far, and I can’t thank them enough for it. There are blogs about virtually anything in the world my topic was chosen because it’s something I love to do virtual worlds are a huge part of my life. I’ve played them since I was a kid and continue to immerse myself in them now as an adult too.

Blogging success comes with the enjoyment of typing your content. If you don’t enjoy what your typing about or you don’t enjoy the act of blogging, you’re doing it wrong. Blogging is creativity to provide content to your reader that they will keep coming back to read more of what you have written. This also brings me to the next thing I wanted to explain content isn’t everything, but your writing style plays a huge part in the success of a blog. If people in their heads can read the excitement and passion you have for your topic they will be just as engaged in reading it as you were writing it. I’ve been blogging for years but just recently created this blog on virtual worlds and the virtual world industry with my posts widely talking about two specific virtual world platforms which are Second Life and IMVU. We all hit success at different points in our lives to be 100% honest I don’t promote my blog. I type up stuff for it add tags and whatever happens, just happens if I were to promote a little more it would probably be more successful but in all actuality, I just don’t care. I write because I have a passion for getting my words down on paper I write because my passions should be shared to those who want to read about my experiences and what virtual worlds are all about.

To be fair on Tumblr I have written some very successful blogs with a ton of views per day. To be fair though this is also more of a social media platform where I just got my random ideas out on the table. Now that I have a topic that interests me here on Wordpress it’s a whole new world staying on a topic can be hard because I tend to ramble a lot but it gives the blog purpose. The truth is I bring a wide range of people to my blog all from different demographics. I have tweens, teens, and adults who read my content. Ahead of time for you parents out there I apologize if your kids read some of the iffier content, I provide on this blog some posts have it but for good reasons, they’re apart of the virtual world community. But sometimes it’s hard to appeal to a wide range of audiences which is why whoever wants to read my content can. In a sense, I’d love to see my blog thrive more and I know with more content and with time it will. But for those who are losing faith in getting views and losing faith by providing content that you just feel isn’t working out it will. Things come to those who wait. I didn’t think anyone would read my content and I have a few supporters already who do and I’m super grateful for them don’t give up! Keep writing and keep enjoying the topic you’re writing about. If you love something, your readers will too. Seem uninterested and you’ll sink like the titanic. So, take the journey and see where you end up.