What Animal Jam Is -- My Thoughts.

Hellooooooo, Jammers!

Karalee speaking!

I just read a wonderful opinion piece by our very own Graciepopstar91 on the blog The Animal Jam Community. (Click here to read it!) It's all about what Animal Jam was intended to be, and what it has become.

And I agree with a lot of it.

But (being a different person) I kind of have my own spin on how I view Animal Jam. I think that Gracie's post is an excellent, powerful, highly important topic, and I also think it could really start something -- all Animal Jam bloggers sharing their perception of what Animal Jam is, their view of what it should be, and their personal goals to help it get there.

So without further ado, Graciepopstar91's What Animal Jam Has Become Challenge! (By Karalee.)




What Animal Jam is.

It's an MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game. But that's only the technical definition.

What it is -- is a community. A community of more than 50 million people and growing... and it's bound to get messy.

There's scamming, a combination of flat-out lying and sneaky business deals. Basically, it's Jamaasian con-men. (Girls, too, but 'Jamaasian con-women' just doesn't roll off the tongue.) It is, in poetic words, a plague known as greed. It will strike wherever allowed. It manifests itself in a vast range of symptoms, from lying to an uninformed Jammer about the rarity of an item, to "borrowing" an item from a friend -- then running away with it forever. The cure to this mind-altering plague cannot be administered by others, it can only come when the affected Jammer alone makes a choice, making it extremely difficult to eradicate.

There's social networking drama. That means YouTubing, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook... you name it, there's gonna be drama there. In the words of my dad, "People want drama. And they'll create it." Of course, he's right. (He's Dad. He's always right. 😉) People argue. Always have -- Cain and Abel, anyone? -- and they will still argue today. Over opinions, or over ideas, over the originality of said ideas, over who is better, or more popular, or... well, anything. I think pride is at the root of it. Or hurt feelings -- which can be rooted in pride, too. (Sometimes they're not.) Unlike the 'Scamming Plague', interpersonal drama can only be resolved when all parties involved make a choice. Because those situations often keep drawing more and more Jammers in (this disease is highly contagious), complete and total recovery from Drama is sadly uncommon. A lingering infection consisting of polarized opinions and rifts between friends often impedes healing.

(By this point, I'm not sure if this is an opinion piece or a medical journal from 1890. But if the metaphor fits; wear it. *shrug* :L)

There are many other afflictions known to Jamaa. (And perhaps they need a page or article all their own.) But I believe these to be the most virulent and widespread.



What Animal Jam should be.

I dream of a Jamaa free of these illnesses. Where trading is done freely and fairly, where Jam-A-Gram gifts are used for generosity instead of for thievery. Where offenses are resolved, forgiven, and forgotten instead of argued over endlessly.

Where the only evil we're fighting is the Phantoms.

Art is a huge part of Animal Jam for me, and it is for many others. It's a method of expression, communication, and occupation. It's the main body of my income, trading-wise. (Though I have been known to 'go fly' if good buddies are there to race the Desert's clock with me. 😉) It's how I met many of my buddies, and it's -- just -- well, you might as well ask me not to breathe than ask me not to do art. It's an integral part of my identity.

While YouTube's Drama is most definitely unhealthy, the site itself is another, highly useful field for creative expression. It allows us to speak directly to those watching, and to show other Jammers things such as skits, Animal Jam music videos, featured Masterpieces, and our take on the latest updates and news in the community. An ideal social media community I envision is one where participants are honest, yet kind. Where hard work is prized, and where allegations made are checked with a viable source instead of being taken for granted. I mean, come on. 😜 That would solve SO many problems AJ's got today.

Adventures are now being added all the time, and being a part of Jamaa's story is extremely exciting to me. The newest, Storming The Fortress, promises to be the best one yet!

In summary, I believe Animal Jam should be a place for free expression -- indeed, as it is now. But in a better world, our own personal expression would be tempered by consideration for others before it leaves our mouths -- or fingers. 😏 We would choose to be the person we'd like to see ourselves express.



My personal goals to get there.

The only way I know to change Jamaa for the better is to work for it in the tiny things. People usually talk about Random Acts Of Kindnesss, like gifting someone for no reason, or telling someone you like their look (when maybe you don't actually like it at all). But that's often hard to do consistently. After a while of resolving to do better 'just because', I find myself slipping away.

Sometimes I feel like everything I do needs a reason for me to need to do it. (Although I sometimes do lapse into 'crazy-because-I-can-be' silliness. Though it's often more 'crazy-because-I-am' silliness.... 😊)

I know that God is the only reason worth doing anything for. That doesn't mean I only do things He'd be pleased with, unfortunately... I'm human after all. (*looks at her tan paws* Well, you know what I mean.) But none of that changes what -- or, more accurately, Who -- I want to live my life for.

And 'living my life' means exactly that. Living my life for Him means doing His will in everything I do, be it making a Masterpiece, or listening to someone who needs to talk. (Not exactly sure yet how my Masterpieces can accomplish His will... but hey, He can bring good out of anything. 😋)

To quote the Newsboys;
A million little drops of rain
Can be enough
To cause a tidal wave....

Maybe I'm not meant to do some big thing that will affect Jamaa, though I'd sure like to. (The opportunity would probably scare the Candy Cane Socks off of me, but may God give me the strength to get over the butterflies. 🦋🦋😁🦋🦋 Amen. 🙏)

Maybe what I'm meant to do is simply live. And a life well lived can affect a lot more people than one big action. Living it for the other people around me, giving my time, my rescources -- pieces of my life, because that's all I've got to give.

That's my goal, for Animal Jam, and for non-digital pursuits.

To really live it in the way worth doing.



(DXplorergirl)