It's been a long time, Argonath.
For the new players who do not know me, I'm JDC. I was a cop and FBI Agent / Director, member of the Admin Team, Events Organizer, Journalist, Man Whore,
Meth Cooker Chef, and a whole lot of other things ingame.
But above all of them, I was someone who came to Argonath RPG almost 10 years ago, and stayed in the community through many of my personal life's developments; graduating high school and entering Uni, getting my first job, becoming a professional Graphic Designer, as well as a social democrat activist IRL.
Over the years, I've come and gone, making
several homecoming topics, last disappearing in 2016 after my previous laptop was stolen. Some times, I stayed longer than others, with my last disappearance being the longest. Yet I am still proud to call this community home.
And now, I am coming home.
After logging into my forum account for the first time in ages (and going through my forum posts), I would like to share some thoughts with all of you:
1.) While I unfortunately missed the 10th (and 11th) anniversaries of this community, which shares the same birthday as me (July 28), I want to appreciate the work of Gandalf, Aragorn, Sauron, Legolas, the Community Leaders and Management, and numerous past and present admins that have kept this community going through thick and thin. It is hard enough to maintain a prominent active group on one of the servers, let alone a community through almost 12 years — a community that has brought together people from different countries and walks of life to have fun together. I am amazed (and proud) to see Argo last this long.
2.) I want to apologize to the friends (and Argonath Express staff) who I suddenly disappeared on. After my laptop was stolen, I became preoccupied with RL developments, and returning to Argo became less of a priority until I ended up not doing it altogether. Many players disappear from this community for many different reasons, such as personal problems, Uni, starting a family, etc. And in my case, it was prioritizing work (to put food on the table) that took me, and I did not even get to say goodbye and pass on our work properly. But thankfully, I now have the time and energy to come back.
3.) Going through my posts, I found my
5th Anniversary Topic from 2013. 5 years already?! Jesus. Now I feel even older.
4.) Over the years, I have had my share of feuds with fellow Argonathians. In hindsight (now that I am 24), many of them were petty after all. But it also makes me realize that it was part of the rocky growing-up process that we went through together.
Many of us came to this community as your typical asshole teenager, and have now grown up to become professionals in different sectors. One example is me, who started out as a high school kid, now someone in his mid-20s who works in national political communications (and is now too old for college parties.)
I know fellow Argonathians who are now professionals in programming, management, government — I even know one who worked for one of his country's intelligence agencies! The diversity of Argonathians is amazing, and many things I have learned here about other cultures have come in handy IRL at some point.
As we all grow up, some stay, most move on; but it's always nice to see the old-timers, as well as the new players who keep this community going when us old farts pack up and leave.
Before anyone gets excited, I have yet to download GTA:SA once again (and buy a new mouse, since my old one broke), but I will see you IG soon! I've finally rejoined on SA:MP, and I'll be settling in before starting Argonath Express (and maybe ARISE) once again.
It's good to be back.
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