Growing up in the early 2000’s was an interesting time. George W. Bush was President and gas prices weren’t terrible. Oh and this thing called the Internet was just taking off. Some of you probably remember the popular online game called Neopets.
It was an online world where your pets lived when your mom told you no on getting a dog for the third year in a row.
Well it’s also where Kristin, who’s now 29, and Michael, who’s 27, met. Kristin was from Little Rock, Arkansas and Michael was Ohio and he went by the name of “Doctor.”
Kristin told Buzzfeed News:
For a long time [Michael] didn’t use his real name and went by ‘Doctor.’
They both also played in a role-playing guild on the site called the “Evil Jellies.” That’s where they logged in everyday and chatted. The two were rivals in that guild, but that didn’t stop them.
Fast forward to them being teenagers and chatting on AIM.
This is where they began to be more intrigued into each other’s personal lives. They found out each other’s real names and didn’t have to call each other “Doctor” and “Zepher_Cat” anymore!
Kristen said:
“We went from silly rivalry to talking about school and life
It took a long time from having talked pretty much daily when we were younger teens when he finally sent me pictures of himself and we would sneak phone calls.”
There you go Michael, sliding into those DMs before that was even a thing!
They got to know all about each other and eventually found a way to meet up IRL. The only problem was that Michael’s parents had no clue, even though Kristin’s did.
“He was afraid that if he told his parents about me, they would tell him he can’t talk to strangers online”
This is a very real point, lets say in 2008. Parents were scared of the internet, at least mine were.
Michael found a way to meet Kristin though. He planned a college visit near Little Rock and the meeting of a lifetime was finally in their grasp. They planned to meet at a local restaurant but when Kristin saw him in real life, she ran out the door without even talking to him.
She said:
“My mom said he was watching me so intently he tripped over a curb. She thought it was really silly.”
They eventually went to the same town for college and continued their relationship offline. And guess what?!
In 2014 Michael proposed!
They said that they contributed such a strong relationship early on to communication:
“We learned growing up as kids talking to somebody on the internet that you got to know how to communicate — otherwise you won’t have a friend.”
So true!
So do think that meeting people on the internet is the best way to meet people?
Kristin concluded:
“You can make real friends and have real relationships.”