A Trekkie’s Journey to Self-actualization

Roleplaying has been my gateway to endless adventures, personal growth, and meaningful connections. Some people knit, some people garden, some like to hike, others love a good book. While I may like some or all of those things, my main hobby for some years has been paragraph RP. It began in a video game. I was lost and unsure of how things worked. I was looking around, going from place to place, finally ending up at medieval farm of sorts. A guy was sitting on the fence, and we began to chat. Before I knew it, I was pals with someone in Europe who made me laugh, taught me how to roleplay, how to build, and how to shoot an arrow for the hunt. It was my first experience of a virtual friendship. A year later, I found myself in a group of Star Trek fans who got together each week to roleplay missions on the bridge of a starship, just like I’d seen on tv. I was often nervous about participating but I kept going back. As my interest in roleplaying continued I started to see a slow change in my approach to life. I realized that the roleplay — all conducted in text — was encouraging me to speak out. Me, the painfully shy! The one who suffered from debilitating stage fright. The one who could barely open her mouth to speak to a group of people in the coffee room at work. Working in text allowed me time to read, think, and edit before posting. Over time, I grew to feel my creative voice and ideas were acceptable to others. I began to trust myself more. <a href="https://medium.com/@vdenyx/transformative-power-of-roleplaying-how-it-reshaped-my-life-8360d6ce37c7">Click Here</a>