Make believe in yourself.

Its been interesting growing up in the land of make believe.

Long ago, in a simpler time, I was an innocent and relatively impressionable 5th grader. I remember hearing stories about my classmates and their foray into the internet and watching my skin pigmentation turn a gentle shade of green with envy.

Soon enough those stories became my own as my parents finally mustered the funding to purchase a family computer and make my e-dreams come true. As I logged onto AOL for the first time, I knew I was in for a ride. As the years passed, I watched the internet develop ten-fold. New communities sprouted. New applications became rampant across our counter-culture. The internet started to take more and more time out of our days.

As things became more readily accessible, I watched myself get into trouble for varying reasons that I won't specify and had to deal with an overly enticing Web of sin and delight, fighting within myself to find the right balance between the two.

Looking back on those online entities that have spored and created unexplainably vast, unmovable organisms, nothing strikes a sweeter cord than that of the MMORPG, the massively muliplayer online role playing game.

From Neverwinter Nights to World of Warcraft, these games have stormed the online community and made communities of their own. They're like a plague, or antidote, for the socially awkward or unaccepted.

For the sake of now, and time, we'll look at where such an entity is now and how real life nd virtual economies have scissored and become one-ish.

Take World of Warcraft and Second Life for example.

The appropriately named Second Life offers a second life for those not happy with their own, or just looking for something to do in their free time. Within their regions or Sims, users can create male and female avatars and decorate them to their hearts content. It's a reality based faux-reality as users can explore the regions, socialize with other users, trade and create goods, and even buy and sell land, which is an extremely hot commodity. Adding another dose of reality is the Linden Dollar in Second Life, which actually fluctuates with the dollar. This money can sadly be purchased with real human dollars, or earned through a variety of means.

Second Life is an open virtual economy that allows users to rise and fall and live life as they would or would like to in reality. It can either be a valuable tool used for success in ones life or a danger to ones self esteem and decision making skills. The fact that actual money is spent on making this online universe real to the user is dangers in itself as it can literally drain everything from an addict.

World of War Craft is a closed economy that costs money to enter, but strays users from spending money in it to advance. Through quests and missions, users can make their created fable/storybook like character stronger and can update and purchase new weapons and clothing. Once you pay to get in and stay in, what you do and make within the digitalized boarders is all on your fingertips, not in your wallet.

When people start putting money into their virtual lives on Second Life, they're taking their earnings in reality and creating this powerful character that will never amount to anything other and a cartoonized character of what they'd like to be.

It's dangerous meshing reality with fake, fablized communities as so many people get stuck and give more time to the fake them, instead of spending time, effort, and capital on making their own lives better. Why buffer what you arn't when you can make yourself into what you want to be?

WOW is no angel, but at least it encourages fake earning and development, not meshed digital reality.

Here's all I can say. If you arn't who you'd like to be, don't spend your earnings creating a fake you online and avatar related relationships to quell your social castration. Go out in reality and start the change. You voted for change. You know you did. Now it's time for you to take the podium and not only preach to the choir, but start your on credo to self fulfillment and find that autonomy.

I'm waiting.