Okay, so just like my fellow PHB authors, I’m going to be sharing my Poptropica Origin Story, or My Place in Poptropica (probably not going to be too intriguing though).
Now, I’m not one to remember the dates of important events, so just know that I’m trying my best to remember everything. 😛
Anyway… *clears throat* I’m Spotted Dragon.
2009: Bye-Bye Penguins, Hello Poptropicans
When I was in elementary school, I mainly played Club Penguin. This was most likely sometime in 2009. I would meet up with friends and chat online for as long as possible, but I just wasn’t getting anywhere in the game. Without membership, I felt very restricted, no matter how much fun I had.
Then, Poptropica came into my life around 1st or 2nd grade. Some friends of mine in 5th grade were talking about this “cool online game” on the bus. Of course, being in 2nd grade, I thought that all the 5th graders were really cool and must have great opinions. After I joined the conversation, I learned more about the game, including its name… Poptropica. 🙂 Once I got home, I immediately went to my computer the check it out: Poptropica.com. Now at this point, I was oblivious to the Creators’ Blog, Daily Pops, etc. All I was focusing on was the gameplay.
So… I just made an account! The name “Spotted Dragon” popped up and I didn’t know how to change it, so I just went with it. If I remember correctly, I chose a black skirt, a purple shirt with a peace sign on it, and short brown hair with a purple headband. I landed on Early Poptropica and basically explored that one island for the rest of the night. I wasn’t really sure what to do, so I just started clicking everything that was clickable.
Being new to the game, it took me a couple hours to get the hang of things and complete the island… especially since I was terrified of that giant spider. XD Still, I had tons of fun and couldn’t wait to try out more quests! The only problem was that my brother was always hogging the computer and I was only 8 or 9, so my problem-solving skills weren’t amazing.
2010-2011: Poptropica Help for 25¢
I quickly became addicted to Poptropica and I completed almost every island. With the last couple islands I needed to beat, I looked up random video guides for help (often Thinknoodles). I spent a lot of time gathering credits because my goal was to buy everything possible in the Poptropica Store, starting with the vampires, since they look the coolest. I was also still oblivious to the Creators’ Blog, the PHB, and even the DailyPop. I have honestly no idea why.
Anyway, right around the time I was mastering the game, everyone else in my class started to love the game too. For the kids who weren’t familiar with the game, I offered to help them create an account and taught everyone the basics during our class’ free time. Since I did this, I kinda became known for my Poptropica knowledge.
Now, I’m not exactly sure how I pulled this off, but I convinced people to play me 25 cents for help on finishing islands. If their problem was too difficult to just explain, they would give me 50 cents, along with their login info, and I would beat the island myself. I don’t know why in the world people would trust me, a 9-year-old, with their account. Now you might be wondering: why didn’t people just look up walkthroughs like you did? Well kids, believe it or not, the world wasn’t always surrounded by technology. 9-year-olds didn’t have smartphones and most of us had very limited computer time.
Sadly, Poptropica began to fade after awhile, slowly becoming less and less popular. Heck, even I will admit that I would go a month or two without logging on. I still had hope it wouldn’t just be a one hit wonder, though.
2011-2012: The PHB Fangirl
After our school system banned Poptropica for no apparent reason, the few people that still played Poptropica pretty much stopped caring. Except for me obviously! However, being up to date on all the islands could get kinda boring.
I eventually got super bored with Poptropica, but I didn’t just want to give up on it like I did with Club Penguin, even though none of my friends were interested anymore. So, I figured the internet would help me with my crisis! With a quick google search of “Poptropica,” I came across the Poptropica Help Blog. In fact, it was the first result after Poptropica itself! I instantly loved it and checked back every day. Not knowing much about WordPress, I didn’t comment, follow, or make a WP account the blog until a while later.
When I first started participating in the community, I simply started commenting. I didn’t even have an actual profile. I think my first comment started out by saying something really cheesy, like “long time viewer, first-time commenter.”
Ever since I started commenting, I knew I wanted to be an author on the PHB. Although I always tried not to ask for the position, since I saw so many fans ask and get turned down. I knew that if Fishy wanted to add me to the team, then she would.
Anyway, the PHB inspired me to create my own site in 2012, which I still run today: Adventure Time Pop (be sure to check it out by the way 😉 ). Plus, having a blogging experience would boost my chances at a job. It may be an odd mashup, but back then all I wanted was to make my blog unique, so I just thought of my two favorite things at the time: Adventure Time and Poptropica. Which, still are two of my favorite fandoms in the world.
Moving on to the PHB’s 2012 Halloween Costume Contest! I was exhilarated to find that my entry had won!!! Fast forward to 2013, where another entree of mine had won! Next up is 2014… and I won again! I just wanted to mention this because it really boosted my spirits and really encouraged me to stay a part of the community. 😀
2013: Internet Friends
Shortly after making the ATP, I discovered, even more, Poptropica blogs and decided to expand my blogging skills. The amazing Silver Wolf added me to her blog: Poptropica Tips for Poptropicans, which I still am a part of today. I joined a few other sites over the years, but none of them really stuck with me.
Suddenly, I felt like I was actually well known throughout the string of Poptropica fansites. I was meeting a lot of awesome people! For example, HPuterpop contacted me with some Adventure Time Pop fan art, back when he was still a newbie. I also got in touch with Samwow5 and helped him out with his site.
Anyway, I eventually joined Google+ to be in one of HP’s live stream (where I was sick, so… yay). Well, Google+ is where I really got to know some of my best online friends, like Brave Sky, Cool Smarticle, etc. They helped to put a smile on my face and (even though I’m terrible at conversations and socializing in general) I knew I could always talk to them. Of course, I’m also leaving out a ton of my friends so please don’t feel excluded! 😛
2014: Dream Come True
Okay, let’s get to the big moment… It was around August of 2014 (whoa, that’s a pretty long time…) when I got the email. Something like “Well, I think it’s about time… Join the PHB?” I don’t know, something like that. 😛
As you probably guessed, I freaked. Eyes wide, jaw dropped, speechless. Of course, I accepted right away!!! Who wouldn’t? Don’t worry, I won’t relive my freakout here. Part of me felt like this invitation was totally unexpected, but the narcissist in my was just like “FINALLY!”
Wow, this is such a long post…
*clears throat* I started posting as soon as I could and I made sure to triple check everything I wrote (looking back at my first post… cringe). I didn’t want to make a single mistake. Of course, that doesn’t stop Fishy from rewording my sentences here and there.. 😉
Still, I wanted to stand out and make the PHB a better place. HP had been teaching me the basics of Poptropica’s coding, so I convinced him and Sam to start up a BTS series with me. It has formed into the amazing BTS Overview & Theory series that you know and love today, with the whole PHB team, but just remember who’s running the show. 😉 *cough cough*
2015: The Present and Beyond
The post is wrapping up, so just stick with me a little longer.
If you guys still don’t know me that well, feel free to check out my Gravatar page, which has links to all the other sites I’m on. I spend a ton of time on DeviantArt and would love to get to know more Poptropicans. I’m a huge fangirl with too many fandoms to count who loves art, reading, soccer, music, and a ton of other stuff. I’m currently 13 years old (almost 14… being one of the younger bloggers can get annoying) and I hope to be a part of the PHB team for a very long time. 🙂
Without Poptropica and this entire online community, I have absolutely NO IDEA what my life would be like today. Seriously, it takes up a ton of my time that hasn’t already been devoted to homework (which isn’t a bad thing, trust me). Blogging, although sometimes stressful (mostly due to my procrastination and busy schedule), has really improved my life. Even if I’m not your favorite PHB author, I really hope that you can tolerate and maybe even enjoy my posts because I love each and every one of you. 😀
I am absolutely honored to be a part of the PHB’s future. I hope that I will be able to see the entire community continue to grow and thrive. I have been so lucky to have played a part in the PHB’s first award ceremony, many live streams, stories, art, etc. The accomplishments made on the Wiki have also been extraordinary, even though I didn’t play a big part in them.
Before I end this post, I’d like to take a moment to thank all my fellow authors who have welcomed me to their team, including authors that are no longer with us (they aren’t dead, though, don’t worry). I’d also like to thank the other bloggers that I’ve interacted with over the years, even if we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. Finally, I can’t leave out the amazing artists I’ve met on DeviantArt. *cough* Wow, I’m making it seem like I won a huge award. Well, I should end this before it gets too sappy.
I’m Spotted Dragon, aka SydVC, and this is my story. My Place in Poptropica. 😉
~SD
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