Honestly, this was also the kind of post I never really wanted to make. I always remember being a kid and making goodbye threads on Fuji every couple weeks. I always believed they would never last, that I would end up back on here at some point.
But that era is over, and I think it's officially time I say goodbye.
Now you're probably thinking, "dude the site is dead, why are you making a thread like this?"
Primarily, I want a thread like this to be seen by the most people possible, and for years to come. I don't want it to end up getting buried in some other thread and only ever seen by like 5 people. I want just about everyone who passes through this site from here on out to see this thread. I think that it's important that that happens.
The reason I believe it's important is because of just how much Fuji has impacted my life. For me at least, Fuji was the first time I actually enjoyed real social interaction. Everyone just assumes quiet kids will "grow out of it" or "break out of their shell" eventually, but that was never the case for me. I grew up in an extremely abusive household, both physically and emotionally, and literally NEVER had friends in elementary school. I was the kid who would line up behind the line in gym class and when the teacher said go, I would just stand there and wait for the period to end. I had no interest in interacting with other people, and as a result, other people had no interest interacting with me.
Mynk helped change that a little by introducing me to like-minded people, and Yiwu helped me by giving me an opportunity to actually interact with those same like-minded people. But Fuji was the place that actually helped me understand and process the idea of enjoying people and actually wanting to talk to and be around them.
Now, I'm not delusional nor am I putting up the world's biggest nostalgia blinders as I type this: I'm fully aware of the fact that I wasn't the most popular personality on this site (or the two that came before it). I know I lied a lot, was a huge pot-stirrer, generally just an asshole nobody liked very much. Exactly like real life! However, unlike real life, being told to fuck off online didn't bother me even a little. Honestly, I kinda fed off of stuff like that; maybe I really was born to be an internet troll? I mean, definitely not, but I'm sure what I'm saying makes sense to most people.
However, at the end of the day, I remember Fuji in a positive light, and I associate the nostalgia I feel whenever I think about it with positive emotions. I remember the bad interactions, but also the good ones. I remember the times I was an asshole, but also the very few times that people actually came to me looking for someone to vent to/a shoulder to lean on. But most importantly, I remember this site in regards to how it aided me in becoming a decent person.
Beyond the fact that Fuji helped me to become a social person who doesn't fear interaction with other people, Fuji also undoubtably became a place that, as I got older, I started to associate with thoughts like "okay, so now I just need to do the exact opposite of what I did when I was on Fuji." It gave me the perfect example of how NOT to be a person, and you'd be really surprised how often that's come in handy in my day-to-day life.
As I matured into an adult, it got clearer and clearer everyday that the absolute WORST way to live your life was to be an asshole. Being a liar, a pot-stirrer, and a troll is probably the worst way you can choose to live your life. It's the worst way you can choose to spend ANY of your time unless you're just genuinely in a mood to do those kinds of things. They're the things you do occasionally and feel bad about afterwards. Doing these things everyday on Fuji, and getting a really weird level of enjoyment from them, made me realize just how bad they truly were.
So, I just kinda stopped doing it.
Even though the idea of "I view Fuji as a good thing because it provided me an example of how NOT to act" is inherently cynical and, if I'm being frank here, kind of stupid, it's an absolute 100% undeniable fact that that belief has helped me a LOT in getting through life in one piece. I think it's important to remember things like that, to see the positive lessons that are hidden within the not-so-positive aspects of life.
Now, obviously, I'm being a bit dramatic. Clearly, we all used this website when we were kids/young teens and took everything WAY too seriously. At the end of the day, nothing that happened here really matters all that much. Heck, I could VERY easily say that none of us really know anything about each other; the site was only alive for a couple years, and has been dead for close to 10 now. Most people who used to talk here regularly haven't even logged in in 5+ years, and the ones who do still login every now and then rarely do so more often than once a year. When's the last time we actually talked to anyone from this site, knowing them as the person that we do right now? It's probably been ages, and these days, they're more than likely NOTHING like the person you knew them as years ago. None of it matters.
...yet, that's exactly why it ALL matters. Life is about living in the moment. We all have plans and goals and whatnot, sure, but planning too far in advance is stupid and honestly, a bit arrogant. How can you, a lowly human, say that you know exactly what you're going to do on an exact day and at an exact time? Most people can't even keep appointments that they make a week in advance. Don't be so arrogant to think that you can plan things out too far. You can't.
That's why I strongly believe living in the moment, which is why I hold my time spent within the confines of Fuji extremely close to my heart. This site was THE dictionary definition of living in the moment. We were all far too young and immature to be doing what we did; too young and too immature to be talking about the things we did, acting the way we did, sharing the information that we did. But we continued doing it, and even as the negative consequences of doing so began to pile up, we KEPT doing it!
Everything that happened on this site was stupid and pointless, and that's kind of what ended up making it important; we continued doing it in spite of that. I don't want to forget the memories I have of that. I want to hold onto them and cherish them for the rest of my life.
Now obviously, this thread has already gone on super long and I could probably stop here and be satisfied with everything that I've written. However, before I cap off what should be the last post I ever make on Fuji, I want to quickly give a nonchalant shoutout to EVERY SINGLE PERSON (at least that I can remember) that I talked to on this site in any capacity.
Apologies in advance for anyone I forgot.
Briane - shoutout to myself because I think it's hilarious that that ended up being the name I used for Mynk. Since I lied a lot, I heard the line "Brian... if that's even your real name" fairly often. It was technically not a lie at the time, but is now. I was named after an uncle who passed away at 7 years old after falling down a well. We both had the exact same name: David Brian (first and middle name). However, for whatever weird reason, my family always referred to him by his middle name, and I guess it just stuck. They decided to try that same approach with me, and it was something that I never thought much of; my name was Brian, no big deal. A few short months after Fuji became a thing, I started middle school and was referred to as David by most people. It didn't take long for me to realize how much more I liked the name, and from then on, any new person I met knew me as David and David alone. In 2019, I ended up legally changing my name to have my middle name removed. While my mom and my sister still call me nicknames derived from the name Brian, nobody else in my life refers to me by that name anymore.
Drummerguy/Dry Gum/DG - first guy I ever talked to in a forum outside of Mynk when he originally introduced me to Yiwu. I have a pretty good memory of the first night we met all these years later, he was really inexperienced with forumotion and I remember helping him with a few things. I also apologize for that thread I made in 2016, I was really high and have almost no recollection of actually typing that lol.
YEM - one of the few guys I never had any real beef with on this site. Being a Chicago sports fan who hates the Cubs, I find a lot of points of connection with your type, primarily having a strong respect for LeBron and his 2016 magic of bringing a championship to a team that truly deserved it. As well as rooting for the Indians in the World Series a couple months later... sadly that one didn't end up having as good of an ending.
Dan - another guy I never really had much beef with. Unfortunately I don't remember a lot about you in general outside of the fact that you're from Texas and we used to Skype fairly often.
Chainy - the best thing I remember about you is the fact that you were convinced that I was some kind of high-level hacker because I played an MSN messenger prank on one of your friends. Just so the water's clear, I've never put malicious software on anyone's computer in my entire life (nor have I ever intentionally hacked anyone's account).
Syfte - I really wish I could remember your original username. You were really fun and easy to mess with, no offense.
Johnywilko - always thought you were gay for some reason.
Rutz - sadly I'm entirely convinced that he's a pedo, but definitely one of the very few that I liked talking to quite a bit back in the day. At the same time, I hope I go the rest of my life without ever interacting with you ever again.
MrMega - one of the very first people I talked to on Mynk itself, earliest memory I have of you was when I was eating Burger King and I asked if you liked hamburgers. Don't remember much else other than the fact that you were a douchebag, but I always loved you either way.
Tristan/Sk9 - by far the nicest voice of any user here.
Einsteinean - undoubtably the guy I related most to around here, solely because he was also a huge troll that few people actually liked and fed off the hate hardcore. I'm sure it was more of an act for you than it was for me, though. Cool dude nonetheless.
Jim, SF, JCMG, and Hector - I remember you guys by name, but I don't remember a damn thing about any of you 4.
Jshushij - I always remembered how to spell your name by telling myself "it's sushi with two sh sounds, and the letter j on both ends."
Victoria - Kurt Cobain is legitimately the most untalented musician I've ever heard in my life. I take any chance I get to tell Nirvana fans that they have absolutely godawful dogshit taste. I sure hope you listen to better music nowadays.
Lesliehockey - one of the VERY few who actually defended me back in the day. Why the hell did you do that man? What the hell was wrong with you?
Interfan - you're TMJ, right? Why did you show me your dick on Skype? Like I know I asked you to and whatnot but like... you should know better man.
Noble - the thing I remember the most about you is that I met you right before I started middle school and ended up having a teacher named Mr. Noble and his name made me think about you. Also you were a prick too, but who cares, love you.
Derderder - pretty sure you were ripped back in the day. Also very funny.
SOUP - you look like you were important, but I don't remember you. Why did everyone change their names so goddamn much? If I, a man named David, can still go by the name "Briane" with a straight face, you guys should have no problem.
BullsFan4Life - no idea who you were, but unfortunate that I see your name in a list this many years later. I always thought this site had a huge lack of Illinoisans and it would've been fun to interact with another.
Skweekers - the gal that perfectly embodies the phrase "I remember so much about you. I don't remember anything about you." Seriously. We talked to each other a lot, and we both talked to the same people a lot. Why is it that the only thing I remember about you is that you're a girl from Canada? Total brain enigma.
Bonnie - I wish I could remember your old username and what our deal was. I remember us being pretty friendly for a while and something happening to make you suddenly start hating me with a passion. I'm sure I deserved it, just wish I could remember what it was.
Katanga - never had beef either, also talked to you quite a bit outside of Fuji after your short time here came to a quick end. Probably the best person I ever met on this site, really helped me out of a terrible situation.
Faz - saving him for last because he deserves his own section. Probably was for the best that we never knew each other all that well.
And I want to make a shoutout to someone who I know was on Yiwu quite a bit, but not sure if he ever actually made the jump to Fuji. His name was Tom and the only thing I can really remember about him is the fact that his parents passed away when he was young. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know I said some truly hurtful, shitty things to you in the past and I want to legitimately apologize for that. I know you probably never will, but I really hope you see this one day.
Is that it? It looks like it. Once again, sorry to anyone who I may have forgotten.
Long Live Fuji. Thank you guys for all of the memories. Although this will likely be the last time any of you ever hear from me again, I'll never forget about this site and most of you. This place was very important to me in some very important developmental years of my life, and I don't even want to imagine what my life would've been like had it not been around. This place has built an everlasting monument on my soul and my personality, and I have all of you guys to thank for that, because Fuji would've never been Fuji if not for all the people that populated it. And for that, I am truly grateful. Thank you all for everything.
I love you all
