It often feels like my entire childhood took place on the web. I had my own desktop computer since before I can remember, back in the late 90s when they were still pretty new and exciting. I grew up on various CD-ROM games: the Jumpstart series was my favorite. I also had a Land Before Time game that I loved, and of course a ton of cheap shovelware (anyone else remember when CD-ROM games were given out in children's happy meals?) I first discovered the internet when I was around 5. I would wake up early in the morning, before my parents, and log on to AOL.

As I got older, I only grew more connected to the internet. I would spend all my free time playing the Sims (Sims 2 was my favorite, and still is today), Webkinz, and Neopets. Most of my weekend nights were spent staying up into the early hours of the morning on the computer, the only noise in the house coming from the faint background noise of whatever game I was playing. I made my way into chatrooms (Wolfhome!!), but I was never that big into Myspace or anything. I just loved playing games - back then, it felt like that was the main reason to have a computer. Of course, I also loved my Wii and my DS. Super Mario Galaxy remains my favorite video game experience i've ever had, and I have many memories of playing Petz Catz 2, Mario Kart, and whatever $5 used game my mom got my from Gamestop.

I was a teenager when the iPhone first came out. I was quickly gifted one for my next birthday. I remember the very beginnings of apps like instagram and twitter. Social media felt like a big, exciting world. I loved posting pictures of my everyday activities, covered in garish filters. Somewhere between then and now social media has turned into the beast that it is today. Like so many others, I feel constrained by the feeling of needing to be constantly online and accessible, something that is exacerbated by my job, which is full of social media competition and showing off. I use screen time apps and locks so that I don't mindlessly scroll, but I still feel like social media has too much of a presence in my everyday life.

I've always been a nostalgic person. It was very exciting to discover this community of people on Neocities, the Yesterweb forums, and more. I don't really have much experience in HTML or coding, but I knew I had to give it a shot. I hope you'll stick around and enjoy my ramblings about the current state of the web, life in Alaska, and my photography.