My earliest experiences with the internet that I can remember had to be towards the end of elementary school, with research projects. At one point, I had to peruse the Internet for information pertaining to Native American tribes that settled in California. I remember researching sea life and organisms’ respective habitats, dietary habits, and overall contribution to an environment to assemble a chart of trophic levels. Overall, I just remember my experience with the Internet being more of a tool rather than a toy.
At the beginning of middle school, and only increasing with time, I started using the Internet for both academics and personal activities. As an introvert in middle school, I spent an overwhelming majority of my time with my nose in books and the remaining free time I had was spent perusing Amazon for what would be the newest addition to my reading list. Unfortunately, what I learned quickly was that a continuous flow new books in conjunction with my adolescent desire to binge read created a burning hole in my pocket. I recall looking through the Web for cheaper alternatives to Amazon’s prices and even trying to find websites that would allow me to read books online for free. That was when I stumbled upon the world of fanfiction, websites where people worldwide author their own stories about established fandoms. My younger self genuinely believed I had hit the jackpot, thousands of stories pertaining to books I had already read and loved. The best part was that everything was all free. That experience was the one I resonate with a great deal in discovering just how expansive, innovative, and useful the Internet was. Truthfully, the Internet was and still is a kind of escape, a portal into near infinite worlds, some of which are far more interesting and engaging then ours.