What's Influenced Me

Day 1,794, 15:52 • Published in USA Argentina • by bigcdizzle
Some reflective music

As most of you already know, Glove made an article encouraging players to think about what or who had influenced them the most in this game. While this seems like a relatively simple task, it was one that truly interested me. One that I had not really considered before……

I sat for a long time pondering this, if I have spent 8 months of my life on this game, There should be something to show for it. I tried to find an event….One single thing that had a lasting impact on me, and I couldn’t. Nothing.
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In 8 months, there has been no Real world skills learned…nothing earned…nothing changed.



The only thing that I can take away from my time here, are the friends that I have made. The people that have showed me kindness, the ones that have shared their lives with me, the ones that have become true friends, regardless of how far away they live.

The people that have influenced me as a person, not just a player. The ones that years down the road, I’ll remember and chuckle to myself.

Because of this, I’d like to take the chance to name a few of them, and thank them for what they’ve done for me. In the words of C.S. Lewis: “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that gives value to survival.”

This is in no particular order.

Gnilraps: He helped me when I was starting out. Gnil has been the only constant influence on me in eRep, he has helped me through each transition of my eLife, and has always been there with advice, or even just a joke. I owe most of what I accomplish in eRep to him.

Neron Trocki: The one who made me come back to eRep after my first day. He showed interest in me from day 1. We had a lot of fun times, and even though we haven’t been speaking much lately, I’ll always appreciate him.

Civil Anarchy: The late night IRC convos, the socio-economic debates, giving me my first real shot at a government position, Honestly Civil has made my time here so much more interesting than it would have been.

Malarkey83: He showed me what leadership is truly supposed to be. Malarkey is the best eRep leader I’ve ever seen, and I know that I’ll take some things I’ve learned from him to apply in RL. On top of this, He’s been a friend. Not just a passive, “oh I’m friends with this guy” kind of friend either. He truly cares about everyone he’s close to in this game. I respect you hugely for that man.

Bia Pandora: The sheer amount of fire and passion that this woman has is incredible. She is fiercely loyal, brutally honest, and a true friend. I cannot express how much it mattered to me, that you always gave me your support, and showed me respect. I can promise that it was not one-sided.

AlexJ1890: The player that I always measured myself against. We joined at the same time, in the same MU and same party. We moved up through eUS society together, and ranked up together. Everyone else that I tried to compare myself to ingame has either quit, or been banned. But Alex has been the constant force driving me to do better.

Jon Malcom: While we haven’t been very close in this game, Jon’s writing has helped me to keep everything in perspective. His writing is some of the best, that’s not just in eRep, but in everything I’ve read lately. He’s a poet with a spark of genius that can’t be matched.

Phoenix Quinn: What can I say? PQ is one of the most articulate, intelligent individuals I’ve ever come across. His theories on life are second to none. His satire has given me so many laughs, and his psychological approach to eRepublik has prompted me to mull over my own gaming style…not to mention my approach to Real Life. PQ is a thinker of the highest Caliber.

George Griffin: GG is my bro, he takes this game to a whole new level, and makes every day interesting. He may be a loud mouthed punk at times, but he'll alway be my brother.

I know that this is already tl;dr, but for all of those that I did not have space to mention, my EZC bros (deepchill, stewy, HarryHill, Chimi etc.), My Feds (Fingerguns, Paul Proteus, Duncan C, BT, Cromstar, Molly Emma), and so many more than I could name. Everyone else that has shown me kindness, you’ve made more of an impact than you realize.

In 8 months, I’ve learned no skills, made no money, wasted a little cash, wasted a lot of time….

I’ve made friends that I’ll remember for the rest of my days, learned some of the most important lessons of my life, worked my ass off, laughed, cried, and gotten up the next day to log in and do it all over again…

It is my goal, to bring away just one of these character traits from one of these wonderful people. If I can be more like any of them in just one way, then my time here will have been a growing experience for myself.

No matter what else happens, whether the game lives or dies, I know that just my experiences over the last 8 months have made this game worth it.

I’m glad I joined, if nothing more, than just to meet all of you.