Hey Jammers!
I gotta be honest with you, I've been feeling super depressed. Like, deeply depressed. Along with everything being difficult and uncertain in my world and in the world at large, the uncertainty with AJ has been hard to deal with.
I guess I get so emo about Animal Jam Classic and have played so long because it's been such an important safe haven for me. So feeling like WildWorks is caring less and less about it, feeling like its future is uncertain, really, really hurts.
It reminds me of when I was in my old apartment that had a big shared backyard. There were these two beautiful trees that were so important to me that the landlord wanted to cut down for an arbitrary reason, out of paranoia.
The trees made the backyard cool and shady in the summer, they were homes for different birds and creatures, and they were like an island of green in a landscape that was otherwise concrete and urban. They felt like home.
I remember when I heard the landlord was thinking of cutting them down, I put so much effort into writing this long respectful, informative email about all the good these trees do for the backyard, environment, and the community, and why killing them is not necessary and would do more harm than good.
And, they cut them down anyway.
Caring deeply about things that no one else seems to care about has been a big theme in my life. The instability and lack of communication with Animal Jam is like another giant nail in the coffin.
It's funny, I was originally going to name this post "Some Happy Things" and it turned into one of the most depressing posts on this blog xD
But I wanna be real with you, because maybe if you're feeling sad too, that honesty can help you feel a little less alone.
The second half of this post is more positive.
----
Regardless of the update situation, there are still nice people in Jamaa. I know this community gets a bad rep, but most people you'll meet in the game are kind.
For example, I randomly started talking with a person who taught me about a 2018 glitch I wasn't aware of: if there was an all-lowercase username from an inactive beta user you wanted, you could get that username by making the first letter a capital when you make that account.
The More Ya Know.
I also went to the Back-to-school Party for the first time in a bunch of years:
It was kind of a weird experience at first, because I don't think I've been there since this party came out around 2015, and so much has changed in the world since then.
I hope seeing me get overly emo about a kids game is what you came here to see, because you'll be seeing a lot more of it xD
Something that hasn't changed, though, is how entertaining it is to watch roleplayers.
Enchanted: *looking at volcano* i got first place
Queen: ew no u didn't
Arctic: don't be mean, Enchanted did get first place!
Queen:
And then...
:')
Maybe we can't always rely on WildWorks to make the best decisions...
but we can rely on each other to make each other smile.
See you in Jamaa!
That’s so sad about the trees :( I’m sorry.
ReplyDeleteWow, it’s been ages since I’ve gone to that party. Maybe I’ll check it out next time I’m on xD
Roleplayers are a fascinating species to examine, haha
Thank you, it was a lot earlier this year but I still think about it sometimes </3
DeleteAnd I miss when Sarepia Forest had more people roleplaying, that was always sooo fun to watch!! I think I might have thought it was annoying at one point but now I miss it, haha
I’m sorry :(
DeleteMe too... I was one of those role players for a long time xD then I got bored of it, stopped and then it kinda stopped not much after
I'm realizing now that clan-type roleplayers probably got more and more uncommon because the chat filter got more and more strict!!
DeleteOh, that’s really smart, I’ve never thought of that! That’s probably true.
DeleteHey DoomyPanda, I'm a long time reader of your blog and I have to say that I agree with you so much about the direction Animal Jam is going... I've been playing since mid 2011 and I too get super nostalgic about the good old days. Back when non members could send gifts!! Most of all, I miss when AJ was about nature and learning, and I miss my old friends. :( I have 'quit' the game so many times now, but I still come back to it as it was a part of my childhood.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm so sorry to hear you're having a hard time right now. I struggle with depression as well, and the way things are at the moment sure aren't helping. We had a similar situation at our house where our neighbours cut down these lovely trees in our yard because apparently they were 'blocking the view'. We wrote to our neighbours asking them not to do it and that it was so unnecessary but, like your landlord they did it anyway. Basically, although they were our trees, the neighbours had them cut down because they were growing near the back fence and said they would 'damage their house' even though the trees had been there for a long time and never caused any problems! Anyway, sorry for the long rant and I hope you feel a little better soon. <3
~ MegX3
Thanks so much for commenting!! I love seeing new commenters, even though you've been reading this blog for a while (thank you so much for sticking with AJ Stream all this time, too!!) :)
DeleteI'm glad I'm not alone in holding the nature aspect of Animal Jam close to my heart. I really can't see why Wildworks can't make effort to bring it back more, especially when it's the core of the game AND they still use it as a selling point :|
It makes me sad how some people can so obsessively try to kill any plant that they think mildly inconveniences them, without thinking about the consequences. I can't believe they thought those trees were 'blocking the view' like c'mon, trees are the best view!!
And no apologies for rants! Rants encouraged, and that wasn't even a rant, just a nice comment that I appreciate :)
Thank you for empathizing with me <3
Not the trees :( I enjoy seeing the sun shine through tree leaves, it's just so beautiful. I wish I could recreate it with digital art but I'm not good enough for that (´・ω・`)
ReplyDeletePeople cut down trees for no reason. I can think of two times when I had to watch a tree be cut down, but at least there was a decent reason behind it. Once because a tree almost grew into my neighbor's house, and another time because a tree was dying, and in winter a branch couldn't support the weight of some snow, so it literally just broke off the tree and almost crushed one of my family members, who was out shoveling snow. If we kept it any longer, more branches could've fallen off.
I miss naturey updates too - the entire reason my parents let me play Animal Jam was because I told them you could learn about animals (hey I was 11 at the time, I didn't understand advertising!) and now it feels like I've lied to them. Oh wait - I forgot - Animal Jam Play Wild occasionally has jamaa journal pages about cool migration or safari facts. I won't bring up AJPW vs. AJC anymore since I actually can't bear it.
I'm sorry to hear that you've been feeling depressed, when quarantine started I was fighting my own mental health issues, and that's something I wouldn't wish on even my worst enemy. I hope you feel better soon.
Wildflower75
P.S. Roleplayers are such an interesting species. I always found walking into a roleplay while heading to Treetop Gardens was awkward but now that I almost never run into roleplayers, I guess I miss them a little bit. The silliness/unrealistic-ness is what makes it great to watch :)
I love the sunshine through the trees as well. I think if I were to choose my favorite color/s, it's the shades of green that you see when light shines through leaves c:
DeleteAnd what do ya mean, you're not good enough to draw something? Of course you are! You're good enough to draw anything. Your skill or familiarity with something doesn't determine your worth, and art you are proud of requires you to make lots of art you're not proud of. You could start with layering different shades of green, kinda like the background of this blog! It doesn't have to be your favorite piece of art once it's done-- think of it as practice, for fun :)
About the role-players, I'm remembering now that when I first joined I was actually so happy that I saw so many people roleplaying warrior cats because at the time I was a fan of the series and it wasn't really popular in my school, so I thought it was obscure. I actually was in a clan a couple of times too! It was messy and disorganized, but fun xD
I think the reason why there aren't many role-players anymore is the chat filter getting more and more strict :0
And thank you for the good wishes, I really appreciate it and love your thoughtful comments <3
I'm so sorry to hear that you've been feeling depressed, and I'm also really sorry about those trees. You tried your best to save them. It's so sad when people ruin animals habitats. :(
ReplyDeleteThe lack of updates in aj is really sad, but at least there are lots of jammers still playing! I've noticed a lot of my buddies have been logging on constantly since quarantine started, and there are way more people in places like Jamaa Township and the Pillow Room which is nice.
That poor penguin. Good thing you where there to give them band aids, you're a true hero. :,)
Thank you, this is such a sweet comment <3
Delete