First Term Reflection

Come here to voice your comments, concerns, and questions with the mayor and their aides!
Post Reply
User avatar
bookworm
ToO Historian
ToO Historian
Posts: 16248
Joined: July 2006
Contact:

First Term Reflection

Post by bookworm »

I feel compelled to give a reflection on my first term as an administrator since that's such a meaningful event for a board member, especially one who has been a part of this community for as long as I have.

This term has been a truly surreal experience. It took several weeks after I joined the team to fully recognize and be comfortable with what had happened, because it had happened so fast and in such a nontraditional way. Running for admin is something I did once before and absolutely planned to eventually do again, though not for some time still, but of course I always pictured it contextualized in the usual process of entering an election with with my own running mate and platform and then, should I win, being instated by Catspaw in the usual manner. Instead when I finally found myself in office for that momentous first time, it happened overnight. It took a while to sink in that 'this is it, it's actually happened.'

In addition to the many emotions caused by the event being so abrupt and unexpected of a happening, the specific details around this experience also made it a lot to process.

My very first ToO Election experience (not counting the 5th Election (Regisville) because that was scripted) was supporting the King Regis team of Bren and KBT in the 16th Election, then seeing them do many great things for the community during their term. It has been deeply meaningful to me on a very personal level to have my first term in office be serving alongside that same person who cares as much about this community still today as I recognized he did back then when I was finding my way to becoming an established member here after returning from my hiatus, and it made my mind spin quite a bit when I realized that was the circumstance I found myself in. Incredibly meaningful, but very surreal.

Then there's the purple name. The timing and circumstances of this amaze me. That Bren and Bob just happened to choose to change the admin color to purple for this term, meaning I inherited that as an entirely incidental side effect the promotion. It has been my goal for as long as I can remember to at some point somehow have a purple username. I don't know when or why that desire originally started, but once it became a thing I was serious about it. You may have noticed it mentioned in passing a few times, when there were occasions where it could have actually happened. (here, here, here) For years I have had certain ideas in my head for what I would do when I eventually finally ran for office again. It's your usual series of events and amusements for the community, and one thing for myself. I was going to put in my platform that if elected my first official act would be to give myself a purple name.

All of these personally meaningful details coming together, along with the fact that Bren and Bob did originally want me to be part of the team from the beginning, confirm to me that agreeing to the request to step up when Bob had to step back was the right decision. This has been a nontraditional first term as an admin, but has been a purposeful experience that I will always remember as a central part of my history with this special community.
Image
User avatar
snubs
Future Catspaw
Future Catspaw
Posts: 8551
Joined: March 2008
Location: Loserville
Gender:
Contact:

Post by snubs »

Glad things worked out for you, bookworm. :) I'm happy to know you had a great experience!

I love being the organizer/instigator over participating. My favorite experiences on the ToO were during my times in "office."
snubs is not dumb as he really is very smart. — Bmuntz
Image
| Odyssey Chat | Odyssey Moments | OM Podcast | #NotAIOMerch |
User avatar
Bren
Be positive!
Posts: 6046
Joined: March 2008
Location: Behind the cash register
Gender:
Contact:

Post by Bren »

It has been an honor to have you as a part of the team this term, and I'm so glad things all worked out in the end.
ImageImageImage
logos linked
Post Reply