My Times In the VHLM

[Aimee 1,135]

With this being my first re-create and second go around the VHLM, I thought I would share the differences in my experience between my first time with Jesse, and this time with Ahsoka.

 

2 years ago I joined the VHL (no like, actually – the 13th was my 2 year anniversary in this league) with no sim experience. I was leaning on others to try and figure everything out that I could. I was putting in so much effort and energy into creating content that I was being warned that I should make sure I don’t work so hard that I burn myself out. I was drafted by a team that had only 1 other actually active player and a GM who said all of 5 words to me the whole season. It was a lonely locker room and I had very few people to talk to. Thankfully I had enough support that I didn’t allow the silence on discord to stop me from stocking around. I remember having to go into the gen chat just to figure out how to ask someone if they would be willing to make me a sig. I really had no freaking clue what I was doing. I was also, at the time, hiding my gender because I was afraid of being a female in a male dominated hobby. I was scared that I would be ridiculed or bullied. Yes, I’m in my 30s but that doesn’t mean that I don’t worry about the online spaces I put myself in. 

 

Now all this time later, I am on a new player with a whole new experience. Instead of asking the questions, I’m helping to answer those that others ask. I know my way around the site, I put in good effort without putting in too much of me, and I have friends. This time around, I am in a very active locker room and even though I don’t participate in the conversation much due to work and life being busy, it’s nice to see conversation happening among my teammates and GM. It feels good to know that I can actually celebrate my player’s accomplishments with people instead of having to keep the joy to myself. It also feels good to be able to help the 1st-gens who I catch asking questions once in a while. I like thinking back to when I was asking the same thing, wondering if I would ever get the hang of how the league worked. 

 

My time in the VHLM this go around is about half over and I’m looking forward to moving on to the VHLE soon enough. But for now, I am going to enjoy my time in the minors, watching my new player become amazing. She’s been kicking ass and taking names and I couldn’t be more proud of the player that I have built. And I will think about the next player that I’ll have who will come through the VHLM in their own time as well. 

 

501 words for week 6/23/2024
 

[diacope 1,696]