My mom and dad would probably agree with this statement: I loved my computer (and still do). I played online games for hours on end and sometimes, I would be hitting the power button on my computer at 3:00 in the morning. Don't get me wrong, I still loved playing outside. I rode my bike and scooter all around town, went to the park, and loved being on the farm. But I also loved a few specific websites. Here is a list of websites I used to avidly play (I miss these days), and when I say avidly, I mean always saving up for new furniture, buying new clothes for my character, asking for a new webkinz for my birthday, and getting the best virtual pet:
1. Millsberry
This was the first game I played on my first computer. Because of that, Millsberry will always be in my heart. I remember having a multi-story house with one of the really expensive bean bag chairs. I also remember spending a lot of my millsberry cash on clothes to make my character look the best, along with always trying to find good deals at the garage sales. I tried logging on a year ago to get a message saying they shut down the site. Anyone else remember Millsberry?
2. Neopets
There was so much you could do on this website and I never figured it all out. There were different worlds to explore, games to play to earn money, pets to take care of, and items to trade. While I didn't play on this as much as the others, I definitely played it enough for it to make it on this list.
3. Webkinz
I could write a whole article on this website, but I'll try to keep it short. I had around 20 of these pet webkinz. I asked for them on my birthday, Christmas and, I'll be honest, almost any occasion. I think what hooked me was that I wanted to continue adding on to my house. I'd want a new bedroom, a garden, another kitchen, or just new furniture for an existing room. To get all this, you would play games. The most popular daily game was, as I'm sure you all remember:
I'll admit that Webkinz was my #1 website. Even though I gave all my stuffed animals to Goodwill, the memories will always be there.
4. Stardoll and GirlSense
Stardoll is a little different than the rest of the websites. It's not a pet collecting website, but rather focuses on beauty/shopping. I loved it because I could dress up my doll and bedroom however I wanted. I really don't know what about this game kept me up until 3AM some morning, but I was always wanting to have "the best" room. A very similar website that some of you might know:
GirlSense. Please say someone remembers this because my boutique was always stylin'.
5. Club Penguin
My brother and I loved this game. When I say loved, I mean having a decked out igloo with a disco ball and playing during the wee hours of the morning. I'll be honest, my brother was a lot more addicted than I was so I'll give a shoutout to his dedication. Remember inviting other players over to your igloo? I always loved showing off mine, which is why I ended up buying a disco ball and having so many pet Puffles. Look at the Puffles, though, aren't they cute?
6. Marapets
Last but not least, Marapets is up there with Webkinz for being my favorite childhood website. All my pets were purple, I had a purple love dress, and a purple collection of items. What I liked about Marapets was that I actually made some really good friends. While most I have no idea what they look like in real life, they made my time on Marapets enjoyable. I did quest after quest and always made sure to check Random Chat. Some days it was very tempting to buy an upgrade, but I always resorted to playing the games and daily prizes.
Let's take a moment to thank these websites for bringing back childhood memories.
