Putting this here because I feel weird about posting 3 things in one day on another site.

For those of you who don't know, ESO stands for Elder Scrolls Online, the latest Elder Scrolls game Bethesda released. As you probably surmised from the name, it's an MMO.

Being the awkward person I am and being so used to single-player games, I avoided any and all interaction with other players while playing ESO. Eventually I got more comfortable and grouped up with a couple of people (they reached out to me first and I had several seconds of panicking and paranoia before I accepted. I'm working on it).

Anyway, ESO has guilds that you can join for various things: social guilds, crafting guilds, guilds for doing quests or campaigns, etc. I thought about joining some but always backed out, thinking it was too much for me to handle. Fast-forward a few years: I finally find one that seems welcoming enough and submit an application. I was almost immediately accepted, welcomed, and invited to their server.

Now I knew next to nothing about being in a guild, and was a little scared to admit it. But I decided to ask for help anyways and I'm so glad I did. They helped me every step of the way through my confusion. Never once was I ridiculed.

I still had my doubts though. There weren't any requirements but there were things you could participate in to get promoted to a higher rank. I tried to participate but got completely lost and disenchanted with the whole thing. I was close to leaving but I decided to give it one more try.

These people were so incredibly patient and helpful, even though they were so far ahead of me in everything. I fell behind a few times but always managed to catch up.

While we were doing a campaign, I left for a bit to take care of something, thinking I could catch up quickly. They usually wait if there are some team members missing, but I figured they'd just forge on ahead a bit. When I got back, they were several bosses ahead of me (thankfully the bosses didn't respawn). They messaged me asking where I was so I told them I was coming. I booked it but still got hung up several times.

They didn't just check up on me. They came back for me.
Almost the entire group turned around, found me somewhat lost and desperately trying to catch up, and guided me to the end.

Moral of the story: find yourself some peeps who'll do that for you. 

Alternate moral of the story: kindness is never overrated or unappreciated, no matter how small it seems.

I'm Lethasa, and thanks for reading my spiel.