I have no idea if this deserves to be in the news section, but I'm going to put it here anyway. Regardless of who does and doesn't read it. I'd like everyone to read this if they have the spare time and potentially let me know what you think. So here goes -



On September 11th, 2011, I was on my PSP in a McDonald's restaurant. Connecting to the Wi-Fi there with my system's built-in browser was one of the only methods for me to use the internet. I stumbled upon a random site suggested by F-yeah Pokemon Creepypasta on Tumblr - The 6th Floor Forums. It had some history involving Pokemon Creepypastas, which were a HUGE interest of mine at the time. I quickly signed up with a ridiculously stupid username and a random set of numbers - Pika~Boo74. That very action set a chain of reactions to follow in the coming months and years that have been very significant in my life, and I'm sure in the lives of many other users as well. Some of these things are indeed private, something you may not expect from a public site, but regardless, they've helped form a foundation for who I am and how I react to certain situations in the future.



In the interest of time, I'll try to keep this to the point. It's been 4 years since I joined that website. That was the original Lavender Town. It then became PokeLegacy in 2012, and then emerged back into The 6th Floor later on, and in March of 2013, Lavender Town was born out of that second rebirth of that great site. We lost a LOT of members due to the shift in momentum and a lot of problems due to website hosting errors, server crashes, and even the deletion of a major portion of the entire website. Lavender Town in itself is probably the most stable version of the original website to date. Though through every major change, every significantly different modification, and every technical issue we've had, I stayed loyal to the site and returned no matter what. Each iteration brought with it a new way to look at the world. That may sound stupid to you, it's just a website about Pokemon and creepy stories involving Pokemon. To me though, it's so much more. The experiences, the fun, the journies this website has taken me on have been all different in their own right and have brought different ways to approach the world as a whole. There is this constant reminder in my mind that without this site's creator, Zukdeen, and the many versions of The 6th Floor that have existed, I would be a very different person today. Had I not stumbled across The 6th Floor, many things regarding the site itself would likely be different as well. Though it's clearly uncertain what would be different, there are many implications that things would be. For example, I have no indication as to who else really would have cared enough to take care of the forums for some time before Rob willingly stepped in to help and practically take over, for which I'm personally very grateful.



I know I haven't gone too into detail involving how this site has shaped my life, as they are somewhat personal reasons, but telling you this can potentially give you some insight towards the impact simple things can have on YOUR life. I have spent the greater part of the last 4 years on this site, something I never expected back in 2011. And trust me, I've still got quite a bit of growing to do. That shouldn't discourage me or anyone from looking at things subjectively, though. The many changes this site has gone through, the many people that have come and gone in the course of the last 4 years, I'm grateful for everything that has happened up to this point.



Hell, maybe one day, Lavender Town can reclaim the glory The 6th Floor once had... Though until then, thank you all for an amazing last 4 years. Here's to what the future may potentially hold!