On this day, at this time, we have options.
The world moves fast, and people are made to maintain this pace.
We mirror this in our free time and with our hobbies,
Finding games, songs, and friends to match the meter of the breaks in our busy lives.
On this day, at this time, I would like to tell you a story,
One wrote in rhyme and rhetoric,
One of a game that has aided in making me who I am today,
... "No Cap", as the kids might say.
My tale is well twined with that of Terraria,
A game that I have had the pleasure to grow alongside,
Watching it expand and develop in much the same way I have,
Progress marching, limping, and crawling on, but advancing still in due time.
Terraria has taken hold of my interest for nearly the entirety of its own existence,
A world of adventure, intrigue, and mystery never the same way twice,
Its goals the same, but the path ever different,
A world that I found, was much akin to life.
As I changed, grew, and faced the trials of each time, steady the game stood,
A place for me to go and rest when the the world weighed heavy upon my shoulders.
In my solitude, in my grief, in my questioning of this world,
The game would wait, patiently present for my return, beckoning softly to my weary soul.
The colorful canvas of the overworld was welcoming with every individual entry,
Each day, my wooden huts growing in grandeur, amassing followers from far and wide.
The consistent and calming tunes of the town rolling softly like billowing clouds,
Transporting me to this little world where all of my worries would wash away like water.
But I was no peaceful builder, no mild-mannered maker,
I explored, conquered, and slew countless creatures, the evils of the world fearing my blade.
I drove my constant conquest far and wide, no corner of the map safe from my malevolence,
And in time, there was no mob nor machine, boss nor beast, that could best me.
Finally, as it was all done,
As every world felt as if it was nearing its complete closure,
A monument I would make, a testimony to my toil,
A memento to my time, my missions, and all the memories in-between.
After many years, the cycles began to grow bland, the process repetitive,
And so I began to indulge in the powerful, ever-present passions of others.
Mods and add-ons, challenges and trials, lore and laughs, I sought all of it.
Many more memories made on the foundations of the fulfilled visions of others.
But finally, those days began to burn out too, the game itself growing tiresome to me.
As mods had shown, people are creatures of passion,
and in my pursuit of finding more who burned so brightly, radiated such renewing love for this game,
I was brought here, a place of not only passion, but companionship and creativity.
Terraria is just as much its players as it is the game they play,
A community of all kinds, all populations, and all people.
It is a melding pot of ideas, culture, and creativity,
and it is a place I have come to adore just as much as the game that brought me here.
On these forums, I have found many friends, people like me, some people different,
but people nonetheless, people who have helped me find my footing,
Determining who I am, and how I too can channel my own passion.
It was these people, these precious, priceless people, who have brought me here today.
And so
On this day, at this time, I wish to thank you,
All of you, moderators, members, coders, creators, artists, and anyone else,
For ten glorious years of this game, our game, Terraria,
And for helping me tackle this thing called life through it.
To ten years, and to many more.