when i was a pre-teen, i spent as much time as i could on the family computer. i joined chatrooms, virtual worlds, forums, mmos, you name it. when asked what i did for fun, i'd answer that i liked "going on the computer". i rarely ever elaborated, knowing that for the most part no one would have any idea what i was talking about or why using a computer would even be considered fun. to the other kids my age at the time, being on the internet was weird, and that barrier was exactly what made me like being online so much: all the other weird kids were on there.

today, i don't feel that i have anything in common with the average person on the internet. at face value that statement appears blatantly untrue, given that the 2000s revival shit is extremely popular right now, & that's clearly the direction my website is leaning towards [less from a place of societal posturing & more as a callback to nostalgia from simpler, sentimental times in my own life].

my reasoning is that on this side of the internet, i have a rational expectation for my interests & the performance of such resonating with other interesting people, unlike the other, broader internet, where in my experience doing so attracts the likes of people i find to be vain & stupid. nowadays though, i prefer to be more additive in this discourse loop than i am deconstructive, so i'm cutting this short here.

i have no dewy-eyed ideas of a paradise we once had and lost, but i do miss having a space to go to i knew to be welcoming to me. this place is sort of adjacent to that, & it makes me happy. i like seeing the creativity this opportunity presents, & i seriously appreciate the interactions i have with everybody that takes the time to engage with me & what i do. thank you to you all, that shit really brightens my day<3

—yulia click here to go back