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There are many reasons to everyone in SSU why the chat is so special to them. This section will be everyone's personal thoughts about why SSU changed them or enriched their lives and in which ways. There isn't anything like a specific requirement for this section other than to write from the heart or whatever else moves you to put your feelings on paper or, in this case, on your monitor. Your reflections can be as short or as long as you so desire and you don't have to worry about whether or not other people mention the same exact things that you do or vice versa. Hopefully this will become an excellent repository for some of the reasons why we came, why we stayed, and why we continue to support SSU after all of these many years.

| ~ Cecil ~ | :: When I first joined SSU, I had no real "offline" friends. I was looking for info on then-upcoming Final Fantasy VII, and I stumbled across Squaresoft Universe back at the old GeoCities site. Liking the name of the site, I decided to take a look. . .

SSU isn't about Squaresoft - sometimes I think the chat is seriously mislabelled. It's not Squaresoft that makes the chat room what it is, nor is it the anime. I came to this realization the other night. Granted, they had some part in making the chat room what it is today, but none of these things made this circle of friends what it is today. It is US.

We've been through many hardships that prove as nothing but a testament to our strength and our love for one another. Would any other chat have survived what we have? No. That's because it isn't the chat that has survived anything. It is what WE have survived.

Another thing I would like to add. . .it's funny how lessons and life-changing events are brought about by some of the most unlikely people, isn't it? MG1, who left abruptly, for reasons that are still a mystery in SSU, was actually the one who created the medium for this group to meet. If he had never been around, maybe we never would have met.

I was talking about this with a fellow regular, and we agreed that destiny may have brought us together. I don't think that there could possibly be an explanation for how people as different as we are could meet otherwise. Sure, we all have an interest in Squaresoft, but that would not have sufficed. As soon as the topic went to something non-Squaresoft related, everyone would have scattered, had this been the case. The point is that we are a family. Not a group of friends, but family.

People who are outcast for various reasons. . .people from all walks of life. . .
Brought together by undying passion for Squaresoft games, or was it fate? You decide.

Like him or hate him. . .thank you, Mike.

| ~ Hero ~ | :: Why is SSU so special to me? I really don’t have one answer to that. I’m not really sure if I could explain what it truly means to me.

Prior to visiting SSU the only form of chat I was familiar with was IRC and BBS (Bulletin Board Systems). Surfing the web at home wasn’t really an option, as I had a very slow modem even by 1997 standards. In 1996 I was taking a two year advanced computer course in the evening at the adult education school. In September of 1997 I just completed a very long test and I decided to take advantage of my free time and the high-speed Internet access we had in the lab. I don’t remember what exactly I was looking for when I found SSU, but I believe it was MIDI music. When I found the chat room I was amazed by how it functioned. I never saw anything like it. The people were actually very nice and they didn’t seem to have IRC Syndrome, which was a big plus. For most of my early childhood, pre-teen and teenage years, I didn’t have many friends to speak of. Even the people I called friends weren’t really that close. Everyone in SSU shared the same love in video games and anime as I did. I started to visit on a regular basis. Before I knew it, I became a regular to the room. It was actually because of SSU that I bought a faster modem so I could surf the web and chat in SSU at home.

Everyone in SSU helped me through a lot of rough times, especially when my mother was dying from cancer. I learned a lot from SSU, before SSU I wasn’t a very friendly person, both online and offline, I was down right mean. But with the friendship we made in SSU I started to change my outlook on life. I think I’ve become a better person because of it.

I think SSU is a phenomenon. I’ve been to many chat rooms since, and I’ve yet to any single room with the bonds and connections we’ve made together. How could a simple web page with a chat room on geocities made by just a normal guy connect people together like SSU has? Was it fate? Destiny? Was it just a random occurrence? Regardless of what brought us all together, we are connected now and SSU has changed all of our lives.

| ~ Janus ~ | :: It's difficult to express exactly how I feel about SSU. I was I guess you could say a late comer to SSU, arriving in mid '99. I had a rough time of it at first, you know. My only chat experience was in AOL and IRC, and I must admit I was a little lame in my adolescence. But SSU and I have both grown a lot since then. I've grown as a result of SSU, and I've been a part of SSU's growth.

We're a very close bunch, motley as we are, us SSUers. We've been through a lot, discussed a lot, and we've had our fights and difficulties, conflicts both internal and external, but in general we've all supported one another. And it's a very special thing, what we have. We ARE a family, there's no question of it. The depth of our friendships is amazing given our differences in taste, in personality, in about everything. Issues that tear apart entire nations have no effect on us. Age, gender, race, sexuality, whatever you want, we've got no (serious) problem with it.

We're all intelligent, open-minded, pretty easygoing. SSU's a part of my every day, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

| ~ Psi-Amy ~ | :: Like my profile says, I came into SSU right when it opened, then known as Terra's World of Square. I was 14 years old. I heard about the new chat room opening from a posting on the Loudhouse BBS at Nintendo.com, a bulletin board I was very active on at the time. Everyone who participated in TWoS's opening night was a Loudhouse member, so most of the conversation was about Nintendo and, of course, RPGs. It was pretty fun, so I came back again the next day. And the next. And the next... Pretty soon, the Loudhouse became a thing of the past, and TWoS became my new favorite Internet hangout.

Although there have been times when I wasn't able to spend a lot of time in SSU, it's been an important part of my life ever since it began. To put it simply, it's because of the friends I've made. A lot of the people I've gotten to know in SSU have come & gone...in fact, the only "original" regulars left are Red, Nadia, and I. I'm glad to have met the ones who are gone though, and it's been a joy to see many SSUers grow and change over the years. It's just been wonderful to meet people from all over the USA and beyond, with different interests, talents, and perspectives on life.

I think the atmosphere of honesty and acceptance in SSU has a lot to do with why it has become a home for such a variety of people over the years. Not to mention the enduring and endearing tradition of complete insanity ^_~ Awwww, group hug! Hugs for everyone! I love you guys...

| ~ Nadia ~ | :: When I first came to SSU, or should I say TWoS, it was a pretty crazy place, what with all the Star Wars "battles" and stuff, but eventually, I was coming mostly for Red... Eventually, I finally moved in with him and kind of neglected SSU for a couple of years. I guess I was curious about how everyone was doing (I can't remember why I came back... ^^;;;;), so I started coming by again, and probably less than a month later, SDB started, and you better believe I stuck around for that, as well as for SSU itself.

Looking back now, I honestly can NOT believe that I ever could've left SSU. It's like a huge, insane family. Sure, we disagree and fight and whine and cry and stuff, but we almost always make up, and things go back to being as great as ever. And I'm so very touched at how everyone's always been there for me. Special mention goes out to the Save Nadia Foundation when I had all those bill problems.

Despite the fact that I'm the oldest here currently, I feel like I fit in here just right. I'm able to be myself and be accepted here, though sometimes people might complain about all the crying and whining... ^^;;;; Not to mention I've found myself a couple of bestest friends and my schweetie-poo thanks to SSU. I feel more at home here than I could anywhere else, I think... You guys mean so much to meeeeeeee!!! ;_; ~huuuuuuuuuuugs~

| ~ Dark Paladin ~ | :: I came to SSU many years ago, about a few months or so after it was established. Back then I used to lurk (well, for a day or two) but it seemed like an interesting place. So, against most advice given to me from various sources about how to use the internet and whatnot, I decided to take the plunge and give SSU a try. Considering that the world did not end, I felt that it was fine, especially since the people in SSU were so nice. So, afterwards, I started coming in more and more often, usually daily, and started hanging around for more and more time until our ISP (Netcom) started going haywire.

Time elapsed, people came and went, and many conversations went by before I started FFB. It was mostly to have some fun, get everyone together, and get more out of the chat. It started one hell of a trend for Battles, as far as I know! Unfortunately, this is turning more into a biography of the time I spent in SSU rather than anything else, so let's get down to the nitty gritty, eh? ;D

What made SSU special, and what continues to make it special, are the people. It's as simple as that. Many of them have always been there for me and, quite honestly, I have always felt that I could talk to them about anything. Well, years ago there was still a certain level of decency for subjects, but I think that in recent years we have shattered that decency level quite well! The fact that you can go into SSU at almost any time of day and talk to someone is a gigantic plus, especially if you need help, guidance, or you just want to kill some time since you are a horrible insomniac!

There are also a few other things that make SSU special to me, but I believe that one of those things everybody already knows about in SSU and expects me to say. It probably wouldn't be that way if I didn't bring it up a few times each week! Well, SSU is also special to me since I met Tonya and I met each other here. I think that speaks enough for itself, don't you? ;D If it helps matters any I'm blushing like mad and I can't type any more without getting all mushy. ^_~

After all of these years SSU is still here, many people are still around and available, and while times have changed and people have moved on to different things and situations, we are all still here, still around, and still kicking! I think that that alone says more than enough about how special SSU is, don't you? ^_^