Well…
Hi, I’m retiring.
To be honest, I never thought I’d be writing a retirement post, a short message in #announcements seemed to fit “my style” better. Something about writing about my own RPF journey feels daunting, self-centered and of no value to the reader. Clearly, I decided I should get over myself and write one anyway. I always enjoyed reading other people’s retirement posts and found some sense of comfort in them. Reassurance that I wasn’t the only one who became a little too attached to a silly penguin group.
I apologize (not really) for the somewhat lengthy and cheesy post.
I joined RPF during the first hours of April 8th, 2020. At that time, the world was experiencing the first Covid lockdown and, like everyone else, I was trying to find ways to keep my mind entertained. While reminiscing on old times, a close childhood friend told me she’d heard about a Club Penguin remake, suggesting we play together. I eagerly dug up my old penguin username from the depths of my memory and on to CPR my friend and I logged. We played for a couple of hours until she logged off and I was left on my own to relive what I thought was a closed chapter of my life. Spoiler alert: it was most definitely not.
I don’t remember the exact details of how I was recruited, but that same night, one user by the name of “altsunshine” (moon) invited me to join a fun penguin group, promising stamp-collecting events and a big community. Without any hesitation whatsoever, I found myself following the steps this stranger was listing, leading me to create an account on this nerdy gamer social media platform, also known as Discord, and joining the Rebel Penguin Federation. I sure had a fun night watching the craziness from afar. The whole concept of armies was hilarious to me. You’re telling me competitive Club Penguin groups exist? Please.
Once I got over that ego trip, I started attending events and making friends who kept me sane (as can be) during quarantine. Highlights from my early days include but are not limited to: Cosmo spilling Coke on his keyboard mid VC-led event, the celebratory atmosphere after winning CPAM’s Premier League tournament, the controversial Summer 2020 Olympics (Team Hydra owns), the Cursed Nemo Gang, Rebel Potter Week, and, of course, the multiple editions of the “locket l’odcast”.
Soon enough I became an Officer and then HCOM a year later. So much has happened during my time as staff… yet I find myself not knowing what to say about it. So many experiences, both positive and negative, so many friends that came and went, so many penguin accomplishments, and even some personal ones too. I’m very grateful to be able to say that I genuinely really enjoyed every duty and aspect of it at some point in my “career”. Being staff has tested me in ways I could’ve never foreseen, but I’m forever thankful for all the skills it has helped me develop that I can now put to use in other areas of my life. What a ride it has been.
So why am I retiring? Though this decision may be unexpected for some, the truth is that I’ve thinking about doing so for over 9 months, and I almost did back in January.
As the year continued, I went back to work and started studying again; the small amount of drive i had left for penguins quickly faded. Nowadays, I find myself often complaining about the imperfections that every team has; tasks I used to enjoy feel like chores and I worry it’s getting more apparent by the day. I prefer to step down now while I can still see RPF in a positive light.
Looking back, I’m glad I stuck around for a while longer, but I have other important things I need to focus on right now.
Before I go, I would like to thank some people:
moon: My recruiter and mentor, thank you. I quite literally wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for you. Thank you for guiding me through the competitive officer ranks way back when and teaching me the importance of voicing my thoughts. Over the years, I managed to become a lot more sure of myself and I got very comfortable sharing my concerns and suggestions. I owe that to you.
Link: Where do I even start. I guess we should both thank Lin Manuel Miranda for creating both Hamilton and In The Heights so that we could bond (that was definitely his only intention ever). I’m gonna keep this short, because feelings are overwhelming. Cries. I know I shouldn’t feel guilty for retiring, but I can’t help feeling like I need to apologize for not sticking around for longer. Thank you for believing in me and remindining me that I deserved to be where I was all those times when I doubted myself. I love you, Jimmy <3
Yip: Crazy to think of how many things we’ve gone through together and how much we’ve grown since we first started talking. My first close penguin friend <3 Thank you for putting up with my crazy and being there for me when I was seriously going through it. Glad my dark thoughts didn’t scare you away because I don’t know what I would’ve done with you!! I miss listening to your rants, clumsy stories and just overall being silly with you. Hope we get to meet each other one day :’)
alienn: Te gustaría unirte a un grupo de pingüinos? Penguin turned real life friend. I sit here looking through our extensive collection of :whatifwetouchedbeaksbutplatonica: and laugh at the stories behind a couple of these. What even lead us to start doing this LMAO. Nevertheless, I’m happy cause it brought us closer. I miss having you around :’) We should start plotting our next meet up 
(tiny shy p-) (we forgot to build the statue)
z: Fellow sheets, nerdle and sliding puzzle enthusiast, it’s been nice chatting about random life stuff and talking about our frustrations together. Thank you for putting up with my weird, specific obsessions and letting me steal all the posts with nice numbers. Leading Tux Times with you has been a pleasure. How does it feel to be the last April 8th, 2020 recruit remaining 
Congrats on being the last one standing, I commend you.
elex, cracker, gabi, yvng, gianna, joseph, lance, litty, lanie, jae, avril, f6, yodabobobo, crazzy, cosmo, brento, pehno, rocket, shark, panini, yas, steax, tad, cat, maggie, woogs, bratty, miz, mars, sharki, speedy, pinkpop, nooza, manxy, rachel, ds, mariebeth, anya, ash, coric, emerald, eskild, abby, missy, essjay jacquardio, yaboimac, vish, soup, owl, rosie, patrick, reeeeee, lotte, yoshi, zhark, redamance, rhom, beetle, val, jillmothy, rummy, ellabella855, junebug, jen, crow, pepa, mak, shpec, rai.
Bye bye now.
– princhi
