Dear Reader…
When I started writing Precious and Soft, I did so thinking I wouldn’t have to change blogs again. I already know I love having a bear as a pet when I play a hunter. If I continued playing a druid I would be a bear. If I switched to a Pandaren… c’mon! I could pick ANY class available to the Pandaren and still be a bear! Bears have been a part of nearly everything I’ve done in WoW, in one way or another. A bear blog would give me room to talk about almost anything and not feel I was drifting too far from the theme of the blog.
I prepared myself for change coming. I just didn’t prepare myself for the specific change that has come. I didn’t prepare myself for walking away from WoW.
I’m not going to discuss how I got here. It’s about me and what I need. It’s not about burn-out (in fact, I don’t WANT to walk away - I’ve accepted that I NEED to), and discussing what could be changed that would keep me playing would likely result in further unnecessary pain for me. The point is that playing WoW has become a much more negative than positive experience for me, and I have put as much effort into changing that as I reasonably can. At some point, I had to accept that a relaxation activity that causes consistent pain and stress but only occasionally rewards the effort I put into it isn’t something I should keep doing.
I am not ragequitting, and I’m not going to say I’ll never be back. If I do come back, though, it’s likely to be a very different Azeroth by then. I’m leaving in the middle of a lot of unfinished business. I only have one personal regret - that I’ll never turn in the reply code from Ulduar. Most of my “unfinished business” is a matter of not seeing how various stories turn out. It’s always been the story that mattered most to me.
I’m subscribed until October. I’ll be using at least some of that time to say my goodbyes. I’ll do some favorite questlines one last time, probably. I’m so close to getting Pebble that I’d be sad if I left without finishing that. And I’ll be writing letters here to say goodbye to the characters I’ve spent the last few years getting to know. The idea was partially inspired by Letters from Northrend and Letters from a Shattered World by Rades.
If I unfollowed you on Twitter recently, it’s because I went through my list and unfollowed the people I couldn’t think of as anyone other than “WoW player”. I simply need to limit things while I adjust, and there’s going to be plenty of talk about MoP from people I am still following. The unfollows were completely about doing what’s best for myself right now.
And now it’s time to say goodbye. To make my way around the world one last time, and to stop at every mailbox along the way to deliver a letter or two. You’re welcome to come with me if you wish… the chopper has a sidecar. I won’t be sticking to the road, though, and I can tell you right now this is nothing more than the long way to a tavern. At the end of the ride, there’s nothing waiting except a mug of ale and a soft bed. But it’s never been about where I was going. It was always about how I was getting there.
Sincerely,
