Blogs
13 Feb 2025 - My History on the Internet
Since Bagel and Tor have made their own versions of this blog so far, I decided to share my own story. (Sorry for the delay, I'm lazy...) Anyway, this is going to be an extremely long post, so prepare yourselves!
Background Info
So I haven't really been on the internet for that long, mostly because my parents are really strict. I did not grow up playing video games. I was not an iPad kid. I had very little exposure to technology before Covid, so basically until I turned 11 I lived in a bubble. So consider this blogpost a summary of my life with technology, not just the internet. Compare that to Bagel, who's been on the internet for 10+ years and is roughly the same age as I am (lol).
I don't remember using much technology pre-Covid, I just watched antenna TV. I still remember bits and pieces, like playing Talking Tom on an iPad with my mom at the age of 3, playing Subway Surfers and My Talking Angela on an iPad Mini we won from a raffle sometime around 2014, until I got diagnosed with myopia a year later which my parents blamed on the iPads (and took them away), and so the TV became my only screen again. Also I do sometimes remember playing ABCya/Coolmath games in the computer lab at school, and learning to use a Chromebook in 3rd grade, and struggling to make a Google Slides presentation on it.
This is the iPad Mini, 11 years later. I don't even know how we disabled it for 50 years, RIP 🕊
First Exposure
In late 2019 I created a Roblox account, by the name of theartistlovesart. This was my first introduction to the internet. I decided to sign up because my classmates were talking about MM2 (Murder Mystery 2) and I had seen a lot of my friends/classmates play it too; I wanted to join on whatever fun they were having. I still have some of them friended, though most of their accounts are long dead. My sister, who was 6 years old at the time, created her Roblox account a few months after I did. For the first few months I mostly played NDS (Natural Disaster Survival) and Theme Park Tycoon. I would also play this NDS copy that I had admin on and abuse the shit out of it lol. I got kicked from the game for admin abuse a few times, and at some point I lost my admin privileges altogether.
Also, I remember in January, my parents gave me the password to the family computer (laptop) so I decided to start hiding in the closet and playing on it at night. I got busted and I wasn't allowed to play on the computer again for like a month. I still admit to doing this occasionally with my PC because it's the only time I can play video games in peace, for as long as I want.
Gaming During Lockdown
Ever since I had learned about the game, I had always wanted Minecraft; I even played clones on Roblox. Around the time Covid hit, my mom downloaded Minecraft: Education Edition for me! I was able to play on my dad's Microsoft account from work. But I was so excited and I did some real stupid stuff. I remember, in my first Minecraft world, I didn't even know how to get cobblestone at the time, I used a wooden pickaxe to break diamonds, I died trying to bridge over lava to a naturally spawned cobblestone. I rage quit and deleted that world. After that I learned my lesson and I started to pick up basic Minecraft skills, like learning that you needed to break stone with a wooden pickaxe to get cobblestone (lol). I should also mention that I had an extreme hyperfixation on it, literally all I could think about was MINECRAFT MINECRAFT MINECRAFT for a couple of months.
In summer 2020, I moved from my hometown halfway up the East Coast which kind of upended my life for a while, so I didn't play video games for some time.
After that, I decided to start playing Roblox again. From what I remember, it was mostly Bee Swarm Simulator (I was so addicted to this game lmfao) and some Destruction Simulator. Then I dropped Roblox, again, for Minecraft Education Edition. From what I remember I did hop on occasionally and I did a few Beesmas quests but with the time I was allowed, I didn't even get 30 bees because half an hour of playtime/day doesn't get you very far, especially in an incremental simulator. I know this because I have some Royale High badges from 2021 or so - my sister loved playing that game so I would hop on and play it too sometimes. At the end of 6th grade I got all A's, so my parents bought me a copy of Minecraft. I was so occupied with it that I didn't touch Roblox for about 2 years afterwards
Joining Pixilart, the start of everything
When I started 6th grade, I got a Chromebook for virtual learning! This was a REALLY BIG DEAL because I had never been allowed so much freedom, I could use the computer for the entire school day and not have a timer set that would tell me to log off.
One fateful day in September, I did a pixel art activity on Google Sheets for math class. I really wanted to make pixel art afterwards so I searched up "pixel art maker," made a Pixilart account by the name of "pixela26" and the rest is history. I remember drawing a barn for the daily challenge, but I wasn't signed in so unfortunately I can't find it anymore. But I believe one of my other first drawings was drawing of a blue orchid from Minecraft, which is embedded below with an extremely old screenshot of a wallpost I found funny. But basically for the first few months, I didn't use Pixilart for anything besides the drawing tool. I believe by the time "the purge" occured I had crossed the 60-70 drawing mark, I must've really liked to draw.
Sometime in spring 2021, I decided to start a YT channel. I didn't post anything besides a speedpaint and an animation, but I think I also wanted to post a speech about climate change which I was really concerned about at the time. I should note that this is why I joined Discord, to create a server for the channel (and like 1 person joined lol). I don't even remember what else I used it for during the first two years or so, besides a school server, chatting with friends, and later on, a Minecraft server. It's pretty fuzzy to me, I don't remember much of what happened between 2021-22, I was too busy playing MINECRAFT so the servers I've been in the longest date back to only 2023.
YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE PIXILART
Sometime during June 2021 I decided to "delete" my Pixilart account. I don't even remember why. But I deleted every single drawing, wallpost and comment that I made and privated and deactivated my account. I never thought of privating them, probably because I didn't intend to come back, and deleting accounts wasn't a thing at the time. But it stayed like this for some time, because my dad decided to take away my Chromebook and I had zero exposure to any electronics for a month. Well that proved to be completely pointless because after I got my Chromebook back, I came right back and decided to start drawing again. The following winter/spring was probably one of the most active I was in terms of posting art, I drew a LOT of good art, some of which I am still proud of today, 3 years later! (Damn... has it really been 3 years already?) I also created an alt account for Pixilart around this time. For the first year or so I was pretty inactive on it and actually used it as an alt. It will gain plot relevance again in the next section.
Memory Loss
I honestly have no idea what I did during summer 2022, but I think I caught Covid a few weeks before school started in the fall. After I started 8th grade, my motivation to draw just dropped like a stone, and I don't have any explanation behind it. I don't have much to say besides that I was really active on Pixilart and played a lot of Minecraft, nothing interesting really happened.
Worst Summer of My Life
The summer between middle school and high school was probably the worst one I've ever had in my life. I literally had an existential crisis and crippling depression, and during that time I vented endlessly on my alt, which I privated. It's still an alt, but now it's an alt
I forgot to add, if anyone cares, that I came back to Roblox at the start of summer 2023, after a 2 year long hiatus (and I dropped Minecraft). I got my first Robux and I picked up BSS again. Stupid as it sounds, but I think bee swarm saved my life. It was basically my only distraction in my life and without it I don't know if I would still be here. But yeah I'm still playing bee swarm to this day, just not as much recently.
Best Summer of My Life
I know, funny. It's the polar opposite compared to the previous summer. All I did summer 2024 was play Roblox. Summersmas dropped and I started playing Survive the Disasters 2 (SD2). That was more than enough to keep me happy.
Present Day
There's not much I can say, really. Things are still happening now but nothing big really. Unless you count when I created this Neocities, on December 11th 2024. That's pretty much it.