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Neopia is a great land, filled with mysterious creatures
and lovely landscapes. Recently it has gone through some ups and downs and I have
questioned whether or not it remains as fun as it once was. By writing this I
intended to share my feelings about issues that I see effecting Neopia and tried
to offer encouragement to keep your spirits up. I have grown to enjoy this new
community, where people band together and form new friendships, but things are
constantly changing and we need to remember that Neopia is supposed to be fun.
Prices
Inflation is something that happens in almost every matter of life. With this
in mind, it should not have come as a surprise to me to see the price of paint
brushes, transmogrification potions, and who knows what else, leap upward. This
only affects a fraction of the Neopian population -- those selling and those
wishing to buy products -- but when almost all items have increased in price
it affects the entire population.
NEOPIAN BANK - I myself can relate to those saving up for something special.
Granted I have been very fortunate, I play games and try to rack up Neopoints
just like the rest of you. Unfortunately, the prices of my desired items seem
to be fluctuating and so I never know when a deal is a good one. Likewise a
friend of mine has been saving for a transmogrification potion and just recently
found out that the price of it had skyrocketed an incredibly 200 thousand Neopoints.
Some people may see this price increase as a challenge; something to be faced
and overtaken. After all, you don't appreciate something unless you've had to
work for it, isn't that how the saying goes? This is a good point, but it doesn't
change the fact that a sudden price change can cause extreme discouragement.
I'm not trying to imply that price inflation is a bad thing. It's how things
work and you have to accept that. What I mean to say is that this is simply
one of the aspects that makes the world of Neopets more challenging and has
the potential to make it less fun.
Competition
This is a topic that has been discussed many times before and I'm sure will
not end here. In many ways it seems that Neopets has become one big contest.
Try counting all the contests in Neopia and I think you'll find that they exceed
the number of fingers you have on which to count. For one thing, there's a high
score table for almost all of the games, turning a fun activity into yet another
contest.
Competition can be a good thing, it keeps you on your toes and keeps you from
becoming too pompous because there's always someone better than you are. Nevertheless,
life isn't all about competition. When everyone around you is competing and
desperately trying to win a trophy it can be disheartening for those unable
to rise to the challenge.
I think it's important to realize that winning is not the most important thing.
What's important is being true to yourself and following your own beliefs. What
other people think of you is not nearly as important as what you think of yourself.
Poor Behavior
As I see it the biggest problem in Neopia is the behavior of its residents.
We're lucky to have such a nice place to spend our time, but it would be so
much nicer if people had more respect for one another. This can be stressed
(and probably will be) for your entire life. When you get right down to it,
it just doesn't matter how rich you are or how many items you have. Respect
your neighbors and try to earn their respect in return.
I don't believe that anyone has the right to go into someone else's Neohome
and take their items. What in the world could be going through their mind? Someone
worked their tail off to earn those belongings and when another struts in and
takes those away they should have to deal with a very guilty conscience. They
should know that what they're doing is wrong before they do it. I don't know
how anyone can do something like that.
Behavior such as this is totally unacceptable and only makes Neopia a less
desirable place to live. Again, this is a more distasteful aspect of Neopia,
but could easily be changed everyone would pitch it and make Neopia a better
place for the whole. Respect your fellow citizens and leave other people's property
alone.
Stay Upbeat
All of the above are reasons that Neopia has become less enjoyable, but there
are so many ways in which Neopia has improved. Just think of what it was like
a few years back and you'll see what I mean. Neohomes have become much more
stylish, bands have made their breakthroughs and the faeries have had drastic
makeovers. Everything has become much more modern, which has both positives
and negatives. It's up to you to decide which outweighs the other.
It's important that if you feel disheartened by the negative aspects you speak
up and try to make a difference. Prices can be deflated, competitions can become
less stressful, and people can come to their senses. Becoming angered can lead
to more problems and an even more distressed population. This leads to a circle
of distraught as one person disheartens another, who in turn disheartens another,
who then disheartens another and the chain goes on. To prevent this from happening
try focusing on the positives rather than the negatives and remain cheery and
upbeat. I don't know about you, but I'd prefer a circle of happiness to a circle
of distraught.
Understand
Please understand that I didn't write this article to tell you what matters
and what doesn't. Such things are entirely up to you. The point that I am trying
to make is that Neopia is a world for your imagination. Try to accept that things
change and though it may not be as fun as you think it should be, you can always
make the best of a situation.
Author's Note: Neopia is supposed to be fun-keep that in mind and don't
take things too hard. Feel free to Neomail me!
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