SunOS man pages: A womanwriter's Perspective

Consider the possibilities

"In your Second Life, you can look like nearly anyone, or anything, you want!"
- From the Changing Your Appearance, Part 1, Second Life Notecard

If you think about it, it's really pretty weird. Contrast this to real life, where it can be said that "you don't get what you want, you get what you get." To me, it feels very uncomfortable to be faced with the infinite choices that Second Life gives you regarding, what it calls, editing your appearance.

The tip off that all this was coming came when I chose my basic avatar, and was told that I'd have the opportunity to change it later. Later arrived soon thereafter, when I found myself on Orientation Island and in the self-paced training class.

For someone like myself, editing your appearance in Second Life can be compared to standing in the largest department store in the world and not knowing where to start or what you even want to buy.

It might have been easier if I were faced with real life choices that I felt were important. For instance, in real life, I've actually given some thought to my hair color. I haven't, however, ever given any real life thought to the shape of my head. Therefore, when faced with the head editing choices: small vs. big, squashed vs. stretched, square vs. round, or the angle of my forehead, I was completely overwhelmed and out of my element. In real life, when I encounter a situation that I can't easily make sense of, I freeze and take the time to figure it out. That's what I did here.

Now that I've had some time in real life to reflect on my Second Life behavior, it makes sense. Plain and simple: spending time editing every last feature of my Second Life avatar felt like an exercise for the self-absorbed and the vain. I didn't want any part of it. All I wanted was to not look like an Second Life idiot and to fit in enough to function and move around in this virtual world.

So, like in real life, where I took my basic physical features that I was born with and learned to deal with them somehow, I was striving for the same here. The thought occurred to me, if I really don't do things much different in my Second Life, do I really need one? The answer to that question is, "probably not," but I'm still going to have a Second Life for at least awhile. After all, I am a curious sort, not to mention that it gives me something to blog about.

The only changes that I made to my avatar are that I made her a bit heavier (35%), gave her a bit more body fat (23%), and for the really observant, I will confess to making her breasts a little smaller. In the interest of self-preservation, I'm not going to analyze these decisions in my blog - but suffice it to say that it made the avatar a lot less like a Barbie doll and a little more like the real life me. My Second Life Avatar, in standard issue jeans and shoes, with a self-designed shirt

And for the indecisive among us ...

"In Second Life, you can save as many different characters as you want, allowing you to transform yourself instantly."
- Second Life Mentor, Shaylynn Shepherd, met on Orientation Island

That gem of a quote came from one of the mentors that I met on the public Orientation Island. It took me a while to digest it and understand its full implications. Once again, I tried to relate it to real life, which is probably the wrong thing to do, but it's the only thing that seems to work for me.

Puzzled, I finally asked Shaylynn if this would be equivalent to a person having "fat clothes" and "skinny clothes" without ever having to diet their way into the skinny clothes and eat their way into the fat ones. Shaylynn looked at me, and, with some gestures and expressions that I can't even begin to figure out how to get my avatar to make, indicated that that would be true. She didn't look or sound convinced, but then again, neither was I. Once again, I was just trying to put things into perspective and make sense of things in this virtual world.

Sometimes, I feel like I just don't get it. Other times, I feel like I get it, but it makes no sense. I continue to strive to understand.

Clearly, I have a lot to learn.