1,000 views?!

Now allow me to tell you a story...

(mystical air and atmosphere)

Three-hundred and twenty-nine days ago, a random kid was desperately bored and downloaded an app called “chess.com”. He set up a little profile and got a gold membership to go along with it.

For a little while, he simply played games and nothing else. Those first few games he played would be that mixed bag of wins, losses, and draws you could find at any point.   He was a small-time, unknown member among the masses. But he had met his match at the Royal Game. And so he came back.

Eventually, though, he began to feel the games blending into each other. He wasn’t improving. He needed to get better.

And eventually, after many days, his eye wandered across the screen. He had clicked on the one that said “play” many times, but there were others, too. And so he tried the one that said “learn”.

In that tab was a series of arcane activists once unknown to him. “Tactics”, “lessons”, “analysis”, and so forth. And so he busied himself in these new activities.

However, his desires were still not sated. Was there not a place he could share of his exploits? He felt a burning desire, for interaction among his fellow intellectuals.

And so he saw the third tab, the one called “share”. It was filled with yet more arcane titles, things like “forums”, “blogs”, and “articles”. 

And so having found everything that he desired, he busied himself with social interactions. To be sure, they didn’t all go well. Some people didn’t like him.

But many did. He forged new friendships, ones that would be completely inconceivable in real life, with different people everywhere. He became well-known and popular.

And so, the chess player was satisfied, and happy. He continued to play, to learn, to share, and he continues to do so to this day, becoming ever better.

And so, here I am today.

HELLO, CHESS.COM!!!!!! I’m HitThePin, and wherever you are, I’m hoping you’re doing well.

That story I told was of me, in the case that you couldn’t tell. Ok. Just making sure you knew.

Chess.com was a place where I felt welcomed and accepted, once I clicked on that fateful third tab. Sure, there are trolls, bullies, losers here. But that is a natural consequence of any online forum platform.

The important part were the people who did accept me, even though they did not know me at all. They laughed when I laughed, cried when I cried. We taught, learned, snd grew from each other. We were- are known as what are called “friends”. 

When I started out, I was literally nobody. But now, I’m known, liked, even, dare I say it, popular. And that popularity has rolled over into all these views, and now here we are.

I wanted to say “thank you”. These views were by you guys, not me. I’m thankful for the friendship you’ve given me. I’m thankful for the time that we’ve spent, and will spend. I thank you for all of it.

Some people might believe that I’m making far too much of a deal out of this, that I’m a brain-dead teenager who spends too much time online. To you I say: you are doing that exact same thing right now. You can’t criticize.

Thanks to everyone, everyone who appreciated me and made me feel like I belonged. Here’s to the next 1000!