What an awesome thread.
This is going to be long and drawn out and...yeah.
I love YorkieTalk for so many reasons its nearly impossible to name them all.
I joined on YT when I was 12 years old - I had JUST turned 12. My Mom is on here too (teri88). I remember that we joined during a family tragedy - our yorkie baby, Bandit, had passed away. He was 14 weeks old and we only had him for a month but we loved him with all our heart.
Immedietly, I saw the love and compassion in the people on here. They took these people that they didn't even know and prayed for us that Bandit would recover, and prayed for us when he didn't. Even though a lot of those members are no longer here, the feeling of that kind of love and security IS still here and present in almost every thread.
I've never in my life met a group of people so caring that they would LOOK for people who are in need, and reach out in any way they humanly can to help that person - even something as simple as praying has been known to change lives. It makes me feel unworthy sometimes to be among people with such big hearts and SO much knowledge.
Oh the amount of knowledge on this site - if it wasn't the internet it would probably explode due to the knowledge overload! I've learned so much here it even surprises ME what I can pull out of my head when I need it. Its not like I came on here expecting to learn -- I don't even know what i really joined looking for, I didn't even know what a forum was. I know that my Mom was looking for help and she got it, so I guess I was just looking to see what was going on here that people were so smart! and so willing to SPREAD that intelligence.
A lot of the original members are still here, and I love them all dearly. They play a big part in making YT what it is and making sure that we stay (mostly) in line so that YT doesn't go to the dogs (haha...stupid puns)!
You all have supported me through EVERYTHING. A few of the hardest things in my life...and you guys were there to pick me up. When my real life friends (and even some family) would look at me like I was crazy or over-dramatic, I knew that you guys were there and you won't tell me I'm crazy or dramatic. Well, you might. But you'll still help.
Now I'm 15 and my 3rd anniversary is coming up! I don't remember what life was like without my extended yorkietalk family. But this place is truly like a "home" to me. and when everything else in life does a flip upside down - as it tends to do to all of us - I know that I can come "home" on here and you all will STILL be here being amazing and sharing your wisdom.
I belong to about 5 forums. This one feels like "home" and I can't get off the computer without jumping on here and seeing what you all are up to.
I will commonly talk about you all in my real day-to-day life. Unfortunatly, my friends and their parents wouldn't understand and would think that I'm being very unsafe if I told them that you all were internet friends - so....I will usually say "my aunt ___" haha. I have lots of "aunts" "cousins" and others of that sort that I've never met face to face in my life.
And even though that's kind of strange, its really not too far out there because I DO think of a lot of you as being extended family members.
I love you all dearly!