Post by Ariane Chan on Jan 7, 2009 19:28:53 GMT
Dear friends,
It gives me great pain to say this, but I feel now is the time for me to step down as a staff member of Four Houses this January 9th, having been here for two whole years. I was made a House Guardian by Izy and her then staff members in October 2007, a year and two months ago, and since then I have not looked back. I enjoyed a wonderful first ten months here; I met really friendly people and enjoyed creating and developing my characters (Harmony, Ariane and India were my first and will always have a special place in my heart because of it, even though Harmony has now been dropped). I quickly moulded into this little family community and I loved being a part of it – so when Izy offered for me to become a staff member, I was mostly delighted. I thought, I can give this site back what it has given me: joy, entertainment, laughs, smiles…
And I have certainly enjoyed my run as a staff member. I am extremely grateful for those who decided to give me such an opportunity to help benefit Four Houses – to make a marked difference for the better. It was really fulfilling to know I could do good and people would appreciate it. Although there have been rough patches during my time on staff, we as staff members stuck together through thick and thin and I am grateful for all the support and help I have received from my fellow staff; they are wonderful and I don’t think, until you become a staff member, that you realise a) how much hard work and dedication it is and b) that it isn’t all about fun and games. I know, when I was not on staff, that I thought being a staff member was something really special and privileged – and it is. But, concurrently, it is not always easy, certainly, and I’d like to, right now, thank all of those who contributed to my journey as a staff member – in a good or bad way – that has made it extremely fun, fulfilling and happy.
My main reason for leaving staff isn’t because I can’t stand my fellow staff members – far from it! I am going to miss them so much. I have become extremely close with some of you and although I’m not leaving Four Houses for good, it still feels like a big part of me is being ripped away. After all, I have been a part of staff for such a long time… It’ll be odd without Site Business, Rants and Raves etc; little powers I am sure I have adapted to taking for granted lol.
My main reason for leaving staff is actually linked with my real life. I just can’t keep up my duties as a staff member anymore if I am to lead a healthy, stable real life. To say Four Houses is half of my life wouldn’t be an exaggeration; it is nearly always on my mind and a lot of my closest friendships have spanned from my time here. This is why it is so painful to leave staff, but it is necessary because it has taken over my life so much. I can’t help but sacrifice my time to come online for my responsibilities instead of completing my offline duties – homework etc. It has begun to pull me and my work behind… well, it has been doing that for two years lol; I’ve just managed to keep it under wraps, but this year is the most vital, perhaps, of my life (in terms of education anyway). These exams in the next few months will determine which university I will go to, and hence, my future. I want to do well, and in order to do that, I must sacrifice some things that are also important to me.
Staff is one of many I’ve so far left in the last few months: I dropped down as the organiser of Bloodties; I dropped Harmony and in doing so, Forget-Me-Not has been discontinued; I dropped Madam Hooch. However, nothing pains me as much as leaving staff – not even dropping Harmony, which has been a long time coming lol. Hopefully, by dropping all these things, it will give me more time for my other plots and characters. I want to be able to focus on what I love most: writing. Staff is wonderful, but I would like to be able to sign onto Four Houses and think of my plots first rather than what needs to be sorted out.
I feel I haven’t been able to give Four Houses my all yet, in terms of being a staff member. I haven’t been as creative as I’d have liked; people like Adam are absolutely fantastic at creating new ideas for you all to participate in. I feel that, organisation-wise I’ve contributed a lot, but creatively I would have liked to have given more input. Still, creatively I excel most in writing – the plots rather than the writing itself anyway, and it’ll give me great pleasure to be able to relax a little and focus on organising my rather ambitious but lovable plots so close to my heart. Characters such as Ariane, India and Theo – they want their lives to be given justice, and I suppose me leaving staff has something to do with them – the fact I haven’t been able to give them as much time as I used to. I can remember what it used to be like, when I posted – a bubbly, happy feeling in my stomach. Really. Lol it sounds odd, but it’s true. But it’s not there anymore. I often feel like I’m forcing it out of me instead of letting it come to be naturally. So, hopefully, a break from Four Houses will also help me inspirationally, not just giving me more time to work on real life lol.
I hope people can understand my decision. I’ve loved being a staff member. What I have loved most of all is not being able to input my opinion – it is the opportunity I have been given to interact with all of you. As a staff member I have been able to talk to more of you members than I ever would have done. I have made some wonderful friends and created some mad plots, and my great time on here is down to you guys. So, thank you. Thank you so much for the wonderful time you have given me whilst I have been a staff member.
I have some separate thank yous to conduct. I would’ve posted this in Rants and Raves, but, well, it can just go in this final farewell from Viv the Prefect lol.
Ashley: You were the one person whom I had yet to really meet when I first joined staff. I knew nothing about you haha! And over the last year I feel I have been given a small insight into a wonderful person. I have loved working with you, especially when it comes to Quidditch, which you are wonderfully creative and helpful with, and which, really, is your baby. ;) You are still probably the person I speak to the least, and I still have yet to post with you properly either, but we’ll have plenty of time for that, won’t we? :) *huggles* Thank you for being a part of my Four Houses staff journey.
Julia: I have only started to get to really know you now that you’ve joined staff, and I’m so glad I’ve had that opportunity. It’s true we worked together over Quidditch when I still had Zara, but you were so busy during that time period we rarely got to talk. I’m so glad you’re on staff now; you’re a brilliant asset and extremely helpful and friendly, and you always put a smile on my face with your endless enthusiasm. Adam is right – you are one heck of a creative girl, and I wish you all the luck in your staff journey and in your characters and plots. I'm really honoured to have begun plotting with you, and will thoroughly enjoy the future for us, in terms of plotting, posting and Quidditch! ;D
Kathryn: You know, it’s always more difficult with you offline friends. :P Haha, to be honest we haven’t really had much of a chance to work together on staff – that’s why I’m glad you and I have been able to work together for Quidditch. :) You joined staff when all the insane action had finished, but I am glad to remember you as part of the happy, peaceful era on staff. I hope you have a good run before real life claims you too, and that you will do your best in my place!
Nasser: I know you’re not on staff anymore, and I don’t know if you’ll read this, but I need to include you because you were such a large part of my staff journey. You were there when I joined and I’m so sad you had to leave. I can still remember the first time I spoke to you – in fact, one of the main reasons I joined Four Houses was due to you! Hahaha. I think. Or maybe it was Suivant lol. Or both! I think it was both lol. Anyway, I will always remember you for Stacey and Julia, and their plots. You made them so much more exciting and you will be sorely missed.
Astrid: There are some people I gel with immediately, and you were definitely one of them. Thank goodness for Oscar, eh? ;D Thanks to him I was able to meet you, talk to you, become friends with you, plot with you, and then you even became a staff member, and I’m so glad, ‘cause you totally deserve it. You do a great job and I’m glad to know I am leaving staff in good old and new hands. ;) Thank you for helping me reinvent Theo (and to an extent, Swing My Way) and for giving me more smiles than nearly anyone else in my last two years of roleplaying. You are definitely one of my most favourite people to post with and I hope we will continue posting with each other in the next few years. :D
Izy: Well. What can I say? It’s all your fault. :P Lol. It’s all your fault I’m right here, right now, writing what I’m writing. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have joined Four Houses; wouldn’t have met these wonderful people; wouldn’t have written hundreds and hundreds of posts; concocted many insane plots; wouldn’t have done any of this, and it’s all down to you. So, a massive thank you. There will always be regrets, but they will always be overshadowed by the positives, which I will cling to. I don’t regret joining staff – I never will – and you are definitely the person I have to thank the most for that. And thank you for being a wonderful Head. You did good, Izy, you really did.
Kia: You’re not a staff member, I know – but you’re special, especially to me lol, so I wanted to say a big thank you for keeping me sane over the last year since we’ve really bonded. You’ve helped keep me sane both for online and offline issues, and have made me smile when I have wanted to cry. I’m often frustrated and you were always there, a constant cheering-up for me. ;) I will always be grateful for that. You have also confided in me things I will always keep in my heart, and that has made me happy too – to know I’ve been there for you when you’ve needed someone. So thank you so much, and bring on Yin and Yang, and Spike and Jason, and everything WW and Four Houses, and just… yeah. Everything. xD
Adam: You, my dear, are amazing. You are my rock here on Four Houses. Even though we don’t talk as much as we used to, we will always be best friends and you know I’ll always be here whenever you need me. I feel extremely privileged to call you my best friend, and for you to call me your best friend. It makes me want to cry. *sniff* Lol. Really, I can’t believe it was all because of staff that you and I bonded. Well, it began with Drindia and Drinking With The Devil, but it was cemented by staff and things that happened there, and although it was a painful time, I can never regret anything or look back in sadness because I met you. And you are such a special person – for listening to my rants, comforting me at my lowest, understanding me, plotting with me, posting with me, discussing, chatting, laughing – I did it all with you by my side and I will be most sad to leave you. However, I’m just so happy to be going when you’re Head. I know you want to share it with me, but I know you are an amazing Head all on your own, with or without me here. You can do it, and if you ever need anyone to talk to, you know where I am! I’ll always be here and you’d better to remember that. :P Good luck – you don’t need it – as Head for the next few years; good luck for everything, not just Four Houses. You are my best friend and you, Adam, are very special to me.
So it’s goodbye to many things: magenta (that’ll forever be Viv’s colour; c’mon, who wants bright pink that clashes with almost everything and burns your eyes out, eh?); edits (such a useful power I will miss so much); censuses; events; many, many lists; and so much more. And it’s thank you to many people: staff and members alike. You’ve helped make my time here absolutely delightful.
Thank you. :) And bring on exams and plots and posting!
Viv
P.S. Adam, if you could take me off staff on the evening (after 12 a.m. on my end) of 9th January, that would be great.
It gives me great pain to say this, but I feel now is the time for me to step down as a staff member of Four Houses this January 9th, having been here for two whole years. I was made a House Guardian by Izy and her then staff members in October 2007, a year and two months ago, and since then I have not looked back. I enjoyed a wonderful first ten months here; I met really friendly people and enjoyed creating and developing my characters (Harmony, Ariane and India were my first and will always have a special place in my heart because of it, even though Harmony has now been dropped). I quickly moulded into this little family community and I loved being a part of it – so when Izy offered for me to become a staff member, I was mostly delighted. I thought, I can give this site back what it has given me: joy, entertainment, laughs, smiles…
And I have certainly enjoyed my run as a staff member. I am extremely grateful for those who decided to give me such an opportunity to help benefit Four Houses – to make a marked difference for the better. It was really fulfilling to know I could do good and people would appreciate it. Although there have been rough patches during my time on staff, we as staff members stuck together through thick and thin and I am grateful for all the support and help I have received from my fellow staff; they are wonderful and I don’t think, until you become a staff member, that you realise a) how much hard work and dedication it is and b) that it isn’t all about fun and games. I know, when I was not on staff, that I thought being a staff member was something really special and privileged – and it is. But, concurrently, it is not always easy, certainly, and I’d like to, right now, thank all of those who contributed to my journey as a staff member – in a good or bad way – that has made it extremely fun, fulfilling and happy.
My main reason for leaving staff isn’t because I can’t stand my fellow staff members – far from it! I am going to miss them so much. I have become extremely close with some of you and although I’m not leaving Four Houses for good, it still feels like a big part of me is being ripped away. After all, I have been a part of staff for such a long time… It’ll be odd without Site Business, Rants and Raves etc; little powers I am sure I have adapted to taking for granted lol.
My main reason for leaving staff is actually linked with my real life. I just can’t keep up my duties as a staff member anymore if I am to lead a healthy, stable real life. To say Four Houses is half of my life wouldn’t be an exaggeration; it is nearly always on my mind and a lot of my closest friendships have spanned from my time here. This is why it is so painful to leave staff, but it is necessary because it has taken over my life so much. I can’t help but sacrifice my time to come online for my responsibilities instead of completing my offline duties – homework etc. It has begun to pull me and my work behind… well, it has been doing that for two years lol; I’ve just managed to keep it under wraps, but this year is the most vital, perhaps, of my life (in terms of education anyway). These exams in the next few months will determine which university I will go to, and hence, my future. I want to do well, and in order to do that, I must sacrifice some things that are also important to me.
Staff is one of many I’ve so far left in the last few months: I dropped down as the organiser of Bloodties; I dropped Harmony and in doing so, Forget-Me-Not has been discontinued; I dropped Madam Hooch. However, nothing pains me as much as leaving staff – not even dropping Harmony, which has been a long time coming lol. Hopefully, by dropping all these things, it will give me more time for my other plots and characters. I want to be able to focus on what I love most: writing. Staff is wonderful, but I would like to be able to sign onto Four Houses and think of my plots first rather than what needs to be sorted out.
I feel I haven’t been able to give Four Houses my all yet, in terms of being a staff member. I haven’t been as creative as I’d have liked; people like Adam are absolutely fantastic at creating new ideas for you all to participate in. I feel that, organisation-wise I’ve contributed a lot, but creatively I would have liked to have given more input. Still, creatively I excel most in writing – the plots rather than the writing itself anyway, and it’ll give me great pleasure to be able to relax a little and focus on organising my rather ambitious but lovable plots so close to my heart. Characters such as Ariane, India and Theo – they want their lives to be given justice, and I suppose me leaving staff has something to do with them – the fact I haven’t been able to give them as much time as I used to. I can remember what it used to be like, when I posted – a bubbly, happy feeling in my stomach. Really. Lol it sounds odd, but it’s true. But it’s not there anymore. I often feel like I’m forcing it out of me instead of letting it come to be naturally. So, hopefully, a break from Four Houses will also help me inspirationally, not just giving me more time to work on real life lol.
I hope people can understand my decision. I’ve loved being a staff member. What I have loved most of all is not being able to input my opinion – it is the opportunity I have been given to interact with all of you. As a staff member I have been able to talk to more of you members than I ever would have done. I have made some wonderful friends and created some mad plots, and my great time on here is down to you guys. So, thank you. Thank you so much for the wonderful time you have given me whilst I have been a staff member.
I have some separate thank yous to conduct. I would’ve posted this in Rants and Raves, but, well, it can just go in this final farewell from Viv the Prefect lol.
Ashley: You were the one person whom I had yet to really meet when I first joined staff. I knew nothing about you haha! And over the last year I feel I have been given a small insight into a wonderful person. I have loved working with you, especially when it comes to Quidditch, which you are wonderfully creative and helpful with, and which, really, is your baby. ;) You are still probably the person I speak to the least, and I still have yet to post with you properly either, but we’ll have plenty of time for that, won’t we? :) *huggles* Thank you for being a part of my Four Houses staff journey.
Julia: I have only started to get to really know you now that you’ve joined staff, and I’m so glad I’ve had that opportunity. It’s true we worked together over Quidditch when I still had Zara, but you were so busy during that time period we rarely got to talk. I’m so glad you’re on staff now; you’re a brilliant asset and extremely helpful and friendly, and you always put a smile on my face with your endless enthusiasm. Adam is right – you are one heck of a creative girl, and I wish you all the luck in your staff journey and in your characters and plots. I'm really honoured to have begun plotting with you, and will thoroughly enjoy the future for us, in terms of plotting, posting and Quidditch! ;D
Kathryn: You know, it’s always more difficult with you offline friends. :P Haha, to be honest we haven’t really had much of a chance to work together on staff – that’s why I’m glad you and I have been able to work together for Quidditch. :) You joined staff when all the insane action had finished, but I am glad to remember you as part of the happy, peaceful era on staff. I hope you have a good run before real life claims you too, and that you will do your best in my place!
Nasser: I know you’re not on staff anymore, and I don’t know if you’ll read this, but I need to include you because you were such a large part of my staff journey. You were there when I joined and I’m so sad you had to leave. I can still remember the first time I spoke to you – in fact, one of the main reasons I joined Four Houses was due to you! Hahaha. I think. Or maybe it was Suivant lol. Or both! I think it was both lol. Anyway, I will always remember you for Stacey and Julia, and their plots. You made them so much more exciting and you will be sorely missed.
Astrid: There are some people I gel with immediately, and you were definitely one of them. Thank goodness for Oscar, eh? ;D Thanks to him I was able to meet you, talk to you, become friends with you, plot with you, and then you even became a staff member, and I’m so glad, ‘cause you totally deserve it. You do a great job and I’m glad to know I am leaving staff in good old and new hands. ;) Thank you for helping me reinvent Theo (and to an extent, Swing My Way) and for giving me more smiles than nearly anyone else in my last two years of roleplaying. You are definitely one of my most favourite people to post with and I hope we will continue posting with each other in the next few years. :D
Izy: Well. What can I say? It’s all your fault. :P Lol. It’s all your fault I’m right here, right now, writing what I’m writing. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have joined Four Houses; wouldn’t have met these wonderful people; wouldn’t have written hundreds and hundreds of posts; concocted many insane plots; wouldn’t have done any of this, and it’s all down to you. So, a massive thank you. There will always be regrets, but they will always be overshadowed by the positives, which I will cling to. I don’t regret joining staff – I never will – and you are definitely the person I have to thank the most for that. And thank you for being a wonderful Head. You did good, Izy, you really did.
Kia: You’re not a staff member, I know – but you’re special, especially to me lol, so I wanted to say a big thank you for keeping me sane over the last year since we’ve really bonded. You’ve helped keep me sane both for online and offline issues, and have made me smile when I have wanted to cry. I’m often frustrated and you were always there, a constant cheering-up for me. ;) I will always be grateful for that. You have also confided in me things I will always keep in my heart, and that has made me happy too – to know I’ve been there for you when you’ve needed someone. So thank you so much, and bring on Yin and Yang, and Spike and Jason, and everything WW and Four Houses, and just… yeah. Everything. xD
Adam: You, my dear, are amazing. You are my rock here on Four Houses. Even though we don’t talk as much as we used to, we will always be best friends and you know I’ll always be here whenever you need me. I feel extremely privileged to call you my best friend, and for you to call me your best friend. It makes me want to cry. *sniff* Lol. Really, I can’t believe it was all because of staff that you and I bonded. Well, it began with Drindia and Drinking With The Devil, but it was cemented by staff and things that happened there, and although it was a painful time, I can never regret anything or look back in sadness because I met you. And you are such a special person – for listening to my rants, comforting me at my lowest, understanding me, plotting with me, posting with me, discussing, chatting, laughing – I did it all with you by my side and I will be most sad to leave you. However, I’m just so happy to be going when you’re Head. I know you want to share it with me, but I know you are an amazing Head all on your own, with or without me here. You can do it, and if you ever need anyone to talk to, you know where I am! I’ll always be here and you’d better to remember that. :P Good luck – you don’t need it – as Head for the next few years; good luck for everything, not just Four Houses. You are my best friend and you, Adam, are very special to me.
So it’s goodbye to many things: magenta (that’ll forever be Viv’s colour; c’mon, who wants bright pink that clashes with almost everything and burns your eyes out, eh?); edits (such a useful power I will miss so much); censuses; events; many, many lists; and so much more. And it’s thank you to many people: staff and members alike. You’ve helped make my time here absolutely delightful.
Thank you. :) And bring on exams and plots and posting!
Viv
P.S. Adam, if you could take me off staff on the evening (after 12 a.m. on my end) of 9th January, that would be great.
