Maturing: Looking Back on Old Posts

[Epitome]

[size=1]I was just reading through a lot of my old posts from when I was on here alot before, and through those I have actually been able to see how much I have matured through the years.

I joined OB quite a while back and have been on and off for a couple of years. I always manage to make it back but reading through some of the old posts I have made, I realized how much more educated and mature I have become through time. I was actually reading through a thread called "Goodbye for Now..." which I started, and I was discussing me leaving due to someone saying I was "playing mod." I think back on that now and remember it quite clearly, but I see that a) it was a stupid thread in general because I knew it was against the rules, b) because someone was pointing out faults in myself, that wasn't even a mod, I decided to leave and c) how young I was intellectually.

Even through some of the posts I made that weren't as corny and unnecessary as those, I see some posts where I completely added nothing to a discussion and just said a one sentence post saying "I liked this," or "I didn't like that." I remember absolutely perfectly too why I was doing that. I wanted to get more posts and make myself look better to the boards, when in all reality, if I had added something to a discussion or actually put some thought into most of my posts, that would have been such a better way of maybe looking better. Its odd to see now. All I was interested in was the number of posts I had on the boards.

I feel today that I might have some good input into a discussion because I feel more educated and more mature than I did when the boards first found me.

Now I understand that obviously you will see yourself mature over time, because its complete nature to happen. But looking back, I see those posts and think how much of a child I used to be, and I am starting to become an adult in the real world. So I was just wondering if anyone else has had experience similar to mine, and their thoughts on the matter.[/size]

[Allamorph]

[FONT=Arial]Funnily enough, I posted just like I do now when I joined. It was only two years ago, really, but I'm still as pithy, sarcastic, and [insert adjective] as I was then.

I [I]did[/I] initially start posting in Tahoma, but I switched to Arial really quick because [FONT=Tahoma]Tahoma is just fat.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Same thing with Verdana.[/FONT]

So yeah.[/FONT]

[Desbreko]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]I [I]did[/I] initially start posting in Tahoma, but I switched to Arial really quick because [FONT=Tahoma]Tahoma is just fat.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Same thing with Verdana.[/FONT][/FONT][/QUOTE][color=#4B0082]Your mom is fat! :o

I joined when I was 13 and I'm now 20 so you can imagine how different my oldest posts are compared to now. Though there was a sharp improvement a month or so after I joined, coinciding with the deletion of the Padded Room Party?its removal may have actually been one of the best moderation decisions ever made on this site. It made me decide to stop being lazy, type correctly, and start contributing worthwhile posts.

It was actually a sort of, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," sort of thing. I was originally annoyed that the mods deleted the PRP but then I ended up becoming one a few months later.[/color]

[Akieen Cloud]

[COLOR="Navy"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I was kinda the same way, alot of the posts I made weren't all that great but as I got older and more mature they started to get better and better in quality but my imagination never really lacked due the fact that I've always been a child at heart but I did lack the certain maturity and patience to make good quality post.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Allamorph]

[quote name='Desbreko][color=#4B0082']Your mom is fat! :o[/color][/quote]
[CENTER][FONT=Arial]Indeed?[/FONT]

[IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/funny-pictures-evil-cute-kitten-hands.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER]

[Zen]

[color=royalblue][size=1]

You guys want to see something funny? Look at some of my posts from my first year here...

[URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=27618"]Awesome RPG[/URL]

[URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=27257"]I Heartz Animez[/URL]

After reading my old posts I summarily wanted to go back in time and kick myself in the head. But it comes to show that anyone can go anywhere I suppose. I've been on OBs for a little over five years I believe, so of course I've improved from ages 13 to 18. I just wish that Battle Arena still existed.... Ah, good times... good times...[/color][/size]

[Kimmeh]

[SIZE="2"][COLOR="DarkRed"][FONT="arial"]I'm pretty sure I haven't changed at all, considering my post numbers.. Are quite low.

:3[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Sandy]

I was seventeen when I joined, and unfortunately my true teens began then. I was one of those smart, silent kids who were bullied at school and never had many friends, but after I went to high school, I started to rebel against that self-image. I sure made friends, but my grades fell along with my motivation to study.

I think it showed here in OB as well. I was quite argumentative and made stupid threads I knew were against the rules. Reading back, my English was quite bad then, even though I've always been good at it in school. Most of my English skills comes from the six years spent here, though.

Well, nowadays I can be hotheaded and stubborn as well, but I certainly think more before I blurt out anything. Many times I've caught myself writing something provoking or insulting, and then I've deleted the post (many times before even posting it). So yeah, adulthood is definitely catching up to me. ;D

I still consider my OB-personality to be a long jump from how I behave with people face-to-face. But I think that goes for each and every one of us.

[amibasuki]

[FONT=Arial]haha, I remember being all about the post counts. I'd write just a little over two sentences on some topic I didn't honestly know too much about and rationalize to myself, "I kept on topic and it was over two lines. it counts!"

and I very much miss my old Julia avatar. cute little thing.

the furthest back I've looked at old posts of mine was maybe a couple of months before I stopped coming around for a while. I think I was quite more well-spoken in the written word than I am now, mostly because I'm so out of practice nowadays, I guess. I've also noticed how my opinions from back then have changed pretty drastically, and how I had a habit of making uninformed or prejudiced generalizations about people, which I think (at least for me) came from a combination of immaturity (both age and mindset-wise) and a lack of being exposed to different cultures/viewpoints growing up. not to say that getting older or being aware of personal differences ensures mental maturity lol, but I think the increased life experience that someone can get from both do help as far as individual maturation goes.
[/FONT]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]Having a record of how you acted when you were thirteen is pretty ******. Similar to 'breko I'm turning twenty this year so some things have changed.

For instance, now I have a deep, sexy voice that was absent back in those days. :smooch:[/color]

[Starwind]

I look back at some of my early posts and it makes me want to hang my head in shame. They are brief, lacking of any real content, and have no kind of structure, I had no idea where the enter key was, and both spelling and grammar hurt me physically.

I'd like to think I've improved over most of these, but I also know that I don't exactly offer the best comments most of the time. That's the problem being a poorly spoken out speaker. Even if you have something worth saying, it's hard to word it in a way that people actually pay attention.

Whatever, I'm working on it. And as long as I'm welcome here, I'm gonna keep posting my thoughts and making a general menace of myself.

[Rachmaninoff]

Maybe it's because I haven't quite been here a year and a half yet, but my posts are pretty much the same since I joined. Perhaps the only difference is in rpg posts. In the past five months I've gotten where I'll put more work into some of those. Though when you have a post ending up being 2500+ words... maybe it's too much work. XP

[eleanor]

[font=trebuchet ms] You can trace how I've "matured" through my usernames:

1) anime_gurl <--- obsessed with anime and used lots of smilies.

2) maladjusted <--- angsty, bitchy, self-pity period of middle school

3) Lunox <--- Loves Harry Potter. :)[/font]

[Zen]

[quote name='Lunox'][font=trebuchet ms] You can trace how I've "matured" through my usernames:

1) anime_gurl <--- obsessed with anime and used lots of smilies.

2) maladjusted <--- angsty, bitchy, self-pity period of middle school

3) Lunox <--- Loves Harry Potter. :)[/font][/QUOTE]

[color=royalblue][size=1]

I think I recall a period of time when me and you used to have crazy long debates on the subject matter of non-canon yaoi pairings back when I was going by Double_B_Daigo and you were maladjusted.

Ah good times.[/color][/size]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"]My posts haven't really changed all that much, even though I'm coming up on being a member for three years next month. I imagine some of that comes from already being 24 when I initially joined. Or it could be on account of this:

[SIZE="1"][B]Crystia:[/B] reading my older posts is interesting
[B]Crystia: [/B]but... I was an adult when I joined
[B]Crystia: [/B]>_> So other than perhaps my writing skills for rpging changing
[B]Crystia:[/B] there isn't a huge difference
[B]Desbreko:[/B] You cheated. :-P[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[The Spectacular Professor]

All I remember is a bunch of 4Kids bashing for my first few posts. Then I dropped some spoilers and nearly got myself banned. Luckily, all it really amounted to was some minor [strike]beating with a leek[/strike] modding by Indi and R2VQ, who was still a Mod at the time.

I like to think I've gotten a little more mature since then, but we all know how I love my shenanigans.

[chibi-master]

Well,...I joined only about a couple months ago. Because of this, I don't really see a difference in my posts, but I'll let you know when I do. The closest thing I have is that I now know to try and stay on topic, lest I get an infraction.:animeswea And I really feel stupid for letting myself get off topic that one time...:animedepr Ugh...*slaps self for being such a moron*

[Panache]

Well when I first started posting I really didn't post anything that was worth reading. It wasn't spell checked the grammar was atrocious and it was all very useless information overall. My posts are still not worth reading but at least they're a bit more tidy!

[The Spectacular Professor]

[quote name='Panache']Well when I first started posting I really didn't post anything that was worth reading. It wasn't spell checked[B],[/B] the grammar was atrocious and it was all very useless information overall. My posts are still not worth reading but at least [B]their[/B] a bit more tidy![/QUOTE]

I'm Ace. I will be your spelling, grammar and irony checker for the evening.

Okay, I'm done. I'm sorry. Couldn't help it.

EDIT: And there I go forgetting to capitalize an "I."

[eleanor]

[quote name='Zen'][color=royalblue][size=1]

I think I recall a period of time when me and you used to have crazy long debates on the subject matter of non-canon yaoi pairings back when I was going by Double_B_Daigo and you were maladjusted.

Ah good times.[/color][/size][/QUOTE]

[font=trebuchet ms] Sadly, I remember this and also recall that somewhere in my post I mentioned FF7. How do I remember this? I don't know.[/font]

[Panache]

[quote name='Aceburner']I'm Ace. I will be your spelling, grammar and irony checker for the evening.

Okay, I'm done. I'm sorry. Couldn't help it.

EDIT: And there I go forgetting to capitalize an "I."[/QUOTE]

:animeblus

Well it was still far worse when I first started posting.

[Epitome]

[quote name='Starwind']I look back at some of my early posts and it makes me want to hang my head in shame. They are brief, lacking of any real content, and have no kind of structure, I had no idea where the enter key was, and both spelling and grammar hurt me physically.[/QUOTE]

[size=1]Haha, I can totally relate to this. To be completely honest I never really had the grammar problem, but the lack of content was definitely there. I was just looking back at an old Art Studio thread where Nomad (not sure if he is still here) was posting a lot of his banners and art in general. Almost all of my posts consisted of "I don't like the banner because I don't like the band," or "I like the banner because it is green." I found that absolutely hilarious.

I like to think now, as some of you have already said (I think I already did too ^_^) that I have some logical input on some discussions. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like I actually am useful to people now. Heh, who knows.[/size]

[Aberinkula]

[size=1][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]I think just about everyone on OB can tell you how horrible I was at posting when I first joined... okay here's an exmample of how I posted. I will repeat the same line...

Words blah blah blah spelling error incoherant jumbles of letters.

Yup that's how I posted. But now I'm a lot better because of.... whoa Indi?! I forgot, it was Crystia who told me to buckle down on my posts or I'd get banned.[/COLOR][/size]

[Zen]

[quote name='Lunox'][font=trebuchet ms] Sadly, I remember this and also recall that somewhere in my post I mentioned FF7. How do I remember this? I don't know.[/font][/QUOTE]

[color=royalblue][size=1]

Crap like this is the reason why I can't remember math... my mind is too cluttered with old arguements about animated homosexual erotica.... Great.[/color][/size]

[OMNOMNOMALY]

[FONT="Garamond"]I joined some 4 years back, I think I posted maybe 10 to 20 times in the first 3 years, haha. I got preoccupied with myOtaku and various other blog/profile sites. When I did post, from what I can remember, it was very.. peppy. I really liked the good ole' exclamation mark, and being the preteen that I was it probably involved some faces and whatever other crap kids like. Mostly I think I was afraid of offending people, or being called a n00b. I was most definitely terrified of people not liking me, even though it was on the internet (not that I'm implying it matters less here to have manners than irl, but I was such a robot about my posts "will other people like me? ohmygosh!" xD) On more than one occasion I'm pretty sure I remember revising a post like 4 times. For very. very. very. stupid reasons.

I would most definitely say I've grown. I lurked here in the beginning of my third year as a member, and eventually started posting. Thanks to other forums I frequented, I felt more comfortable putting my opinion out there. That and I saw topics that I was far more interested in, now that I was older, and able to articulate about. I'd like to think I've come a long way from the freshfaced 14 year old posting I did, haha.

My username choices also speak for themselves.
Initially : CoLoR Me EviL <-- are you seeing that alternating caps lock, lower case action? Sew cool, amirite? [/embarassed] And I even allowed myself to keep that up until like a year ago haha. Aaugh. =X
Now: Anomaly

Quite a jump, in my opinion. A good one.[/FONT]