And the world turns again.
It's hard to conceive of an entity that has so completely influenced my life. I joined in November 2001, a seventeen year old kid swimming through a world of new people and new possibilities. I leave it in 2005 as what almost feels like a fully formed human being. As much as one's adolescent friends, family, and culture shape their lives, Quest's End has been a source of catharsis and exploration for me for as long as the current "I" can remember.
I'm rattled with a thousand and one different feelings. Regret at the things I might have been able to do but never did. Frustration that I may never see something nearly as original, involving, and affecting a thing in LARP ever again. Sadness, like I've had to part with a childhood imaginary friend in order to continue on my life's journey. Each tear seems to come with its own reason, and the tide brings me almost to a point of numbness. So I'll leave it, with my best attempt, at this:
Thank you. You enriched my life in the strangest of ways. You occupied me at times when I truly needed it. You helped me meet some of the most amazing people I've ever met. And most of all, you allowed me to believe I was escaping when I was really learning about myself the whole time.
I hope that the success of Quest's End is not a sole anomaly in our world. If anything, it proves how powerful Live-Action Roleplaying can be, creating worlds that stand as strongly in parable as they do in story. A work of art, as admirable and legitimate as they come.
To everyone who was involved in this, in what has so far been the best part of the best four years of my life, my gratitude is boundless. You are all amazing in your ways, and I hope that I've been able to affect you in at least some small portion of the way you've affected me.
Currently Listening To:The Postal Service - Give Up