Did you have any idea what you were signing up for when you first joined SW?

Has it met your expectations, even exceeded them, or failed miserably?

How many times have you deleted your account, and swore to never come back, only to return?

Will you be here a year from now?

I ask because when I look over an old post, I am always struck by how many deleted accounts there are, how many profiles are blank, how many users are no longer here.
Or…maybe I’ve just blocked.
A lot 😳

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

JustNik · 51-55, F Best Comment

I thought I did. lol I thought it would be a continuation of my experience on EP. Of course it wasn’t. I never could quite place why. Sort of like a spell was broken and nothing could replace it. And then with time I learned and changed and so did everyone else. Society in general cracked and hate flowed and it became less and less what pleasure it managed in the beginning. I think a lot of the discomfort comes from the fact that you can feel a pull regardless. There are just enough good people and good moments to bring addictive properties to it. Like a gambler who can’t let go of the idea that THIS hand will be a winner. And there’s an ease and escapism to it that feels malignant. How much time have I wasted here when I should have been feeding my soul with something more meaningful? But meaningful usually requires a bit more effort. I understand why people get fed up. I understand why people leave. We have to live our priorities. I still miss the magic, but I get why it’s gone. I take comfort in the names I still see, the representation of souls I’ve been glad to know of. When they go, I wish them well. Maybe someday I’ll go too, but for now, I can drop pieces of myself here that belong nowhere else. I can read questions like this that make me look and think and allow me to glimpse other perspectives. I still find value in those things. I just reach for balance and get a little better all the time. 🙂

Ghostinthemachine · M

@JustNik as silly as it sounds, because I know people come and go here all the time, and my absence wouldn’t mean much, if hardly noticed. But I feel as long as I have one friend here, that I can only reach through here, I will stay.

JustNik · 51-55, F

@Ghostinthemachine I don’t think that’s silly at all. I think it speaks to how much you value good connections. You’d be missed more than you realize. Even those of us who have adapted to the transience still remember and miss. 🤗

Ghostinthemachine · M

@JustNik I know there are those that have left and I miss, and some that are still here that I am no longer in touch with, but miss when we did converse on all topics of conversation

I do wonder if I am thought of at all, what impression I left with people

Do you ever think of that?

JustNik · 51-55, F

@Ghostinthemachine Occasionally. Life is big with lots of things demanding attention, but we see all the time these posts out of the blue of one person missing another who has floated to the surface of their thoughts. It feels logical in a way that we are indeed thought of (if you can take comfort in that as I do), and while none of us leaves a universally good impression (regardless of our intentions since oil and water do both exist), I think you skew heavily toward the positive because you wish to, because you’re open and curious and that’s the one thing that shakes up the bottle of oil and water and makes it look like pretty bubbles. 😂

Ghostinthemachine · M

@JustNik Funny, along the lines of your metaphor, I made a salad dressing the other night, olive oil and red wine vinegar, and as I mixed the two together (with a touch of sugar) I was fascinated by how they refused to completely mix together, such stubborn liquids.
Like some people.